New Release: About Time from John Clay

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About Time from John Clay
Label: ClayTone Music
Release Date: January 23, 2026
Website: www.johnclaymusic.com

The compositions that drummer and  bandleader John Clay selected to reimagine for his 2026 project About Time are written by some very recognizable names like Chick Corea and Wayne Shorter.  He also chose works written by some lesser known composers like Billy Drummond, Fred Hersch, and Alan Pasqua.  In essence, Clay has aspired to put together a recording that celebrates the great voices of straight-ahead jazz.  A collaborative effort with his band, which comprises of Shunzo Ohno on trumpet and flugelhorn, Matt Garrison on tenor and soprano saxophones, Enrique Haneine on piano, Sean Conly on bass, and vocalist Ruby Pucillo, Clay takes listeners for a wondrous ride, varying in style, rhythm, texture, and interplay, liken to the multiple facets of a kaleidoscope.  The billowing ruptures of Billy Drummond's "Dubai" contrast the bluesy vocalese and freestyle scatting of Pucillo driving "Alice in Wonderland," a work by Sammy Fain and Bob Hilliard.  Transitioning into the Latin tremors scaffolding Wayne Shorter's "Rio" and the ambient swirls tooling "Highway 14," written by Alan Pasqua.  Each track portrays an individual moment, a collaborative interplay that is homespun and uniquely assembled and defined.  Clay fosters an environment of creativity and esprit de corps throughout the album that listeners will enjoy.

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