059: Shareef Clayton
Good morning! This is Play It Like It’s Music. I’m Trevor, thanks for listening.
On Wednesday, October 7th of 2020 Music is not content. It’s connection.
Last weekend I got to spend a day at the beach chopping it up with a good friend.
We’ve been friends since our 20’s, which is cool. Because on some level we get to be the same people we were back then. But we also get to share some of the ways we’ve both grown since our 20’s and consequently feel so much smarter than we used to. It was a trip, and it was also a beautiful day.
We laughed about how we’ve both been reading some very heavy stuff lately, stuff we’d probably not have even thought to check out before. I told my friend how I’ve been reading a bunch of economic theory, and my friend told be how they’ve been reading some 13th and 14th Century history.
It seems to be a common coping device for a lot of us: when you’re feeling powerless in the face of what’s going on in the world around you, knowledge is a form of power that remains more accessible than ever. So in between bouts of “taking action” we can seize a thick book and try to widen our lens.
Away from constantly feeling the acuteness of our current array of crises.
Cop a bit of perspective.
So yeah, I’ve been reading up on some economic theory. Not because I hope to deeply understand it, but because I’m fascinated by the quest to understand things, and by how something you think you know for a fact can be seen in an entirely different light by someone just as smart as you or perhaps smarter.
Finding out why can sometimes turn your world upside down in a good way.
I’m lucky because I get to have this experience a lot. Very smart people like to tell me things, and I like to listen. I’m also super slow to understand things, including music.
Folks laugh at how long it took me to start loving grunge, punk, hiphop, bluegrass etc. Before we learn to embrace sounds that come from beyond our own level of comprehension, it can feel like we’re drowning in information that doesn’t compute.
For some of us, Music is not a sport. It’s a quest. We’re on it for our whole lives, and it keeps bringing us to new places. But in the meantime:
Play me a melody that’s gonna open my heart.
Hit me with a beat and a bass line that’ll move my ass.
Everyone hears at their own speed.
Our guest today is a supersonic musician.
(Cat also likes to read.)
Shareef Clayton is a jazz trumpeter, a native of Miami, FL and one of the most exciting and creative musicians I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. The sound and feel of his music is intense, with a repertoire that includes jazz, r&b, AfroCuban, funk and soul.
He’s appeared with Macy Gray, Melody Gardot, Bobby Sanabria, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Stevie Wonder, The Roots, Michael Mcdonald, Ruben Blades, and many more.
Once you see what this guy can do, you can never un-see it. He brings an incredible polish and showmanship to his performances, but the sophistication and personality underneath it all makes for a really satisfying trip. I’m glad to know the man, and to know about him. You will be as well.
We get some of the story, but also go deep on the quest and some of the questioning that goes on when you reach new heights while also facing the same struggles year after year.
The music life - no matter who you’re looking at - is full of curveballs. But Shareef is another example of a player who knows how to keep developing your talent while learning the mechanics of life and always moving forward.
It’s an honor to have him on the show.
Press PLAY above to ear my conversation with Shareef Clayton.
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Thanks for listening to Play It Like It’s Music. Thanks so much to Shareef Clayton for spending some very generous time with us. You can find him and his music at Shareef Clayton dot com.
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We're all contending with a mutating professional landscape, jacked revenue streams, a catastrophic global pandemic and plenty of other noise out in the culture.
But you gotta keep playing.
We don't draw any lines here between scenes or styles.
As always, thank you for listening and remember to play it like its music.
You can check out my music on bandcamp and other places. It’s all at my website, trevorexter.com. Sign the mailing list on substack to get this show sent right to you the very moment it comes out.
Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.
Big love to your ears.
Trevor
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