Remembering JAMES CLAY at Arts Fifth Avenue

James Earl Clay (b.1935-d.1995) was an American hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist & flutist, and a native of Dallas, TX. He worked and recorded with numerous acknowledged jazz greats including Wynton Kelly, Don Cherry, Billy Higgins, Sonny Clark, Victor Feldman, Cedar Walton, Charlie Haden, David “Fathead” Newman, Wes Montgomery, Ray Charles, Hank Crawford, Dewey Redman, Ornette Coleman, and others.

2015 is our 7th annual tribute and features DFW jazz musicians who knew and worked with James Clay including (but not limited to) Roger Boykin, Johnny Case, Kelly Durbin, Brad Leali, James Gilyard, Lou Harlas, Tom Burchill, Victor Cager, Tatiana Mayfield, Bob Stewart, Clyde George, Duane Durrett and more. ...

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James Earl Clay (b.1935-d.1995) was an American hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist & flutist, and a native of Dallas, TX. He worked and recorded with numerous acknowledged jazz greats including Wynton Kelly, Don Cherry, Billy Higgins, Sonny Clark, Victor Feldman, Cedar Walton, Charlie Haden, David “Fathead” Newman, Wes Montgomery, Ray Charles, Hank Crawford, Dewey Redman, Ornette Coleman, and others.

2015 is our 7th annual tribute and features DFW jazz musicians who knew and worked with James Clay including (but not limited to) Roger Boykin, Johnny Case, Kelly Durbin, Brad Leali, James Gilyard, Lou Harlas, Tom Burchill, Victor Cager, Tatiana Mayfield, Bob Stewart, Clyde George, Duane Durrett and more.

Reservations recommended for this event and may be made by calling 817-923-9500 or Arts Fifth Avenue now offers advance ticket purchase online at www.artsfifthavenue.org.

"Playing with Ornette (Coleman) opened me up quite a bit," said Clay, who was part of Coleman's Jazz Messiahs ...I remember one day we came out of the crib and we were going to practice. I got one of those method books out, and we started playing and Ornette just went off like, and I'm playing toot-toot-toot. So I promptly closed the book up. I said, 'Well, we're going off in a completely different direction here, hmmmm.' It opened my ears up to a lot more."

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