An adaptable and swinging jazz drummer,
Jeff Hamilton has distinguished himself as an in-demand sideman and bandleader, working with both his own trio and
the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. Initially emerging in Los Angeles in the 1970s,
Hamilton built his reputation playing with big bands before coming to wider recognition as a member of the illustrious
Ray Brown Trio in the '80s and '90s. Building upon
Brown's trio format,
Hamilton launched his own group, issuing a steady flow of highly regarded acoustic jazz dates like 1994's It's Hamilton Time, 2009's
Symbiosis, and 2017's
Dreamsville. At the same time, he co-leads his big band with bassist
John Clayton and saxophonist
Jeff Clayton, issuing sophisticated large group dates like 1999's
Explosive! with
Milt Jackson and 2014's Grammy-nominated
The L.A. Treasure's Project.
Born in 1953,
Hamilton grew up in Richmond, Indiana, where he started playing drums at age eight. Initially influenced by his parent's big band and
Oscar Peterson records, by his teens he was drawing inspiration from albums by percussion idols like
Gene Krupa,
Buddy Rich,
Mel Lewis,
Philly Joe Jones, and
Shelly Manne. After high school, he earned his music degree from Indiana University and studied privately with noted drummer
John Von Ohlen. His first big job came in 1974 with
the New Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, followed a year later with a stint in
Lionel Hampton's band. He then joined bassist
John Clayton in pianist
Monty Alexander's trio, recording 1979's Facets and
Live! Montreux Alexander. From there, he spent several years touring and recording as a member of
Woody Herman's Thundering Herd, before taking over the drum chair from
Shelly Manne in the L.A. Four with
Ray Brown,
Bud Shank, and
Laurindo Almeida. It was while with the L.A. Four that
Hamilton began composing and arranging, ultimately recording six albums, including 1978's Just Friends and 1980's Zaca.
As a leader,
Hamilton debuted with Indiana in 1982, playing alongside tenor saxophonist
Bob Cooper, altoist
Lanny Morgan, pianist
Biff Hannon, and bassist
John Clayton. The album also featured a guest spot from vocalist
Mark Murphy. More sideman work followed throughout the '80s, including stints with pianist
Alexander,
Ella Fitzgerald, the Count Basie Orchestra,
Rosemary Clooney, and others. He also furthered his association with bassist
Ray Brown, joining his trio and recording albums like 1988's Bam Bam Bam, 1989's Black Orpheus, and 1994's
Don't Get Sassy.
Also during this period, he formed the all-star
Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, pairing as co-leader with longtime associates bassist
John Clayton and altoist
Jeff Clayton. The group debuted in 1990 with
Groove Shop, which featured a bevy of top soloists including tenor saxophonist
Rickey Woodard; trumpeters
Snooky Young,
Clay Jenkins, and
Oscar Brashear; and trombonist
George Bohanon. The group, which was the in-residence ensemble for the Hollywood Bowl Jazz series from 1999 to 2001, has issued a number of highly regarded straight-ahead big-band dates like 1995's Absolutely!, 2000's Shout Me Out!, and 2009's Charles Aznavour & the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra.
On his own,
Hamilton has steadily continued to lead trio sessions. After initially returning to his solo work with 1994's It's Hamilton Time, he also paired with vibraphonist
Frits Landesbergen for 1997's
Dynavibes and offered the 2002 trio date Hands On with bassist
Lynne Seaton and pianist
Larry Fuller. He then introduced a new trio featuring pianist
Tamir Hendelman and bassist
Christoph Luty, issuing albums like 2004's
The Best Things Happen, 2009's
Symbiosis, and 2012's Red Sparkle. The following year, he and bassist
Clayton backed pianist/singer
Paul Kuhn on The L.A. Session. In 2014, the drummer earned a Grammy nomination for his work on the
Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra's album
The L.A. Treasure's Project.
Away from his own groups,
Hamilton further distinguished himself working on projects with singers like
Diana Krall,
Stacey Kent, and
Michael Buble. In 2017, he was back with his trio for
Dreamsville, a collaboration with saxophonist
Cory Weeds. Two years later, the drummer joined pianist
Akiko Tsuruga and guitarist
Graham Dechter for Equal Time. ~ Matt Collar