Jazz in July
92NY
Through July 26

The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra opened the 2025 season of Jazz in July with a hard-swinging rendition of a standard more normally performed as a ballad, “Georgia on My Mind.” In a sense, “California, Here I Come” might have been a more appropriate choice, as the leader, bassist, conductor, and composer, John Clayton, has, like many of his fellow Californians, been particularly hard hit this year.

Although he didn’t mention it during the Tuesday evening concert, Mr. Clayton lost virtually everything — his house, his instruments, an entire career’s worth of great music — in the Pasadena wildfires. So a pro-California jingle would have served notice that despite taking a beating, the Golden State is striking back.  

Mr. Clayton and his partner, the veteran drummer Jeff Hamilton, for roughly 40 years — the same amount of time that 92NY has been offering the Jazz in July series — have been leading what seems, from the perspective of this East Coast scribe at least, the finest large-scale jazz ensemble that the West Coast has to offer. 

For the West Coast’s leading jazz orchestra to succeed at 92NY is highly significant. If Jazz at Lincoln Center is the nation’s — or even the world’s — top jazz-presenting organization, then 92NY is New York’s no. 1 formal concert venue for the music. For the CHJO to make it here means that they can make it anywhere.

And make it they did: This was one of  the most consistently entertaining, transcendently swinging concerts ever presented at the Y. Kudos to the artistic director of the series, Aaron Diehl, and the executive director of Tisch Music at 92NY, Nicholas Russotto, for going to the rather extravagant expense of bringing nearly 20 musicians to our coast from theirs. It was well worth it, in terms of the collective enjoyment of the sold-out house.

The ensemble’s upbeat ode to Georgia included a feature for the aggressive, high-energy tenor saxophonist Rickey Woodard. The CHJO then played its big band treatment of Horace Silver’s “Jody Grind,” a very catchy, very funky piece — the mood was set by pianist Tamir Hendelman — in the same vein as Silver’s “Tokyo Blues” and Wes Montgomery’s “Road Song,” which featured trombonist Eric Hughes and veteran saxophonist Charles Owens.  

Considering that the band’s co-leader is the drummer, the CHJO is rather reserved in terms of offering extended drum solos. Instead, we were treated to a very subtle and sly, understated interpretation of a 1917 jazz standard, “(Back Home Again in) Indiana,” in honor of Mr. Hamilton’s home state.  He didn’t exactly solo, but instead he shaped and guided and drove the whole piece with his assertive brush work. The 20-piece group — including fully five trumpets — then played one stunning slow ballad, “And So It Goes,” in which Mr. Clayton played the melody of Billy Joel’s classic tune arco with his bow, joined by Keith Fiddmont on alto saxophone.

After one more bluesy riff instrumental, “Squatty Roo,” a tune by Johnny Hodges in an arrangement inspired by the late bass giant Ray Brown — with a trumpet solo by the Philadelphia-based Terrell Stafford — Mr. Clayton introduced the evening’s special guest, John Pizzarelli, the guitar virtuoso, vocalist, and entertainer.  

The presence of Mr. Pizzarelli always portends a good time, and he more than delivered, with four numbers from the Sinatra songbook arranged for Mr. Pizzarelli and the CHJO by Mr. Clayton for their 2006 collaboration album “Dear Mr. Sinatra.”  Among the numbers was “Yes Sir That’s My Baby,” swinging in 4/4 rather than two as originally written, and “You Make Me Feel So Young,” with a well-timed moment of participation from the happy individuals in the audience.

Following the Sinatra numbers, the CHJO played a Nat King Cole standard, “For All We Know,” with muted brass and the evening’s other special guest, 92NY’s own Aaron Diehl, featured on piano. The orchestra and both guests all wound up with an exciting blues, supposedly titled “Captain Bill” but which essentially morphed into “One O’Clock Jump” by the finish.

If the remaining five shows in the Jazz in July series are as thrilling as the opener, this is going to be a very special season indeed. Near the end of his subset, Mr. Pizzarelli informed us all, “You’re hearing the best in the business, just so you know.”  By then we were all well aware of that, but it was gratifying hear him say it just the same.