Happening: Live at the Village Vanguard is a live album by jazz pianist Gerald Clayton, released on July 10, 2020, his first for the Blue Note label.[1][2][3]
Regarding the album, which was recorded in April 2019[3] before the coronavirus pandemic, Clayton said, "The idea of having a recording of a live concert takes on a new meaning now that we're unable to actually gather anymore. [...] I would hope that... people are more inspired than ever to recognize that this music is happening, that it's a living art form."[1]
John Murph of DownBeat wrote, "this thoroughly enthralling album... finds Clayton at a new creative height as a stunning pianist, gifted composer and burgeoning bandleader."[3] The AllMusic review by Thom Jurek praised the album as "a splendid example of Clayton's arrival as a master possessed of enviable and original technique and a kaleidoscopic imagination".[2]John Fordham, writing for Jazzwise, stated, "this fine live set certainly confirms the hipness, but [with] a captivating capacity to veer on and off the beaten track as well."[5] Additionally, Paddy Kehoe of RTÉ described the album as "an energetic, if not cerebral post-Bop set, with occasional relief from the frenzy, in quiet and wistful moments on tracks like 'Body and Soul' and the pianist-composer's own 'Envisionings'."[6] Finally, Thomas Conrad for JazzTimes, added, "It is not piano-centric. [...] Clayton's piano contributions, in their wild, free-spilling, lyrical aspiration, are consistently stunning."[8]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Gerald Clayton except where noted.
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