Beyond the Notes
By Mia Arevalo
Gerald Clayton, USC Thornton Artist-in-Residence in Jazz Studies, delivers a masterclass on the ethics of paying tribute.
On September 9, 2025, USC’s Carson Soundstage came alive, buzzing with the energy of students, faculty and music enthusiasts in every row. As jazz music played over the speakers, the audience’s attention focused on the center of the stage where Gerald Clayton’s piano lay waiting beneath a soft purple glow. At USC Thornton, these “up-close” experiences aren’t a rare occurrence, they happen almost every Monday at Jazz Night.
This was the setting for a live concert and conversation with six-time Grammy Award-nominated pianist, composer and Thornton alumnus Gerald Clayton (‘07), the school’s current Artist-in-Residence in Jazz Studies. In a talk titled “Responsibilities and Considerations When Paying Homage,” Clayton moved beyond technical mastery to explore the creative, ethical and cultural dimensions of honoring musical legacies.
For Clayton, the act of paying tribute is one of profound responsibility, one he framed through his “four pillars” of musical responsibility: Playing with clarity, playing with honesty, thoroughly investigating the source material and locking into the groove. He argued that homage begins not with imitation, but with a deep, humble study.
“If you’re going to be paying tribute to somebody, I just hope that you don’t do it sort of haphazardly or in a trite manner, but really try to do it with as much thought and care,” Clayton told the captivated audience. “Treat it as a sacred thing, if you can.”
To illustrate this process, Clayton detailed his immersive, two-year project commissioned by Duke University to pay homage to the Piedmont blues tradition. He didn’t just learn the songs, he traveled to North Carolina, met with elders like John Dee Holeman and Elizabeth Cotten’s collaborators, and delved into the region’s history and culture. He explained how this deep investigation led to an original composition, “Mama Said,” which incorporated Cotten’s guitar stylings and personal history into something new. The song serves a story from her young perspective, wrestling with the weight of inherited generational wisdom and the “mask” she felt compelled to wear in society at the time, demonstrating how homage can be both respectful and creatively personal.
This kind of deep-dive into an artist’s process is a hallmark of the Thornton experience. For Grammy Award-winning Luciana Souza, Associate Professor of Jazz Voice, this special access is what sets the school apart.
“I think what Thornton does really well,” Souza noted, “is that with repeated visits, it creates a sense of intimacy with the students.” She emphasized that while many conservatories host masterclasses, Thornton’s commitment to bringing artists like Clayton and composer Maria Schneider back repeatedly creates a sense of kinship. “Students are able to really go in and go deeper than just a quick visit.”
This environment allows students to see world-class artists not as distant figures on a pedestal, but as accessible mentors and co-practioners. Souza observed that this “informality” is key, allowing students to connect with the humanity behind the artistry.
“You can imagine yourself becoming an artist like Gerald,” she said. “And that, I think, is really beautiful. USC does a really good job of making this intimate relationship between the students and the visiting artists. A barrier gets taken down, and the student is able to see the humanity.”
Both Clayton and Souza framed the act of paying homage as part of the natural artistic continuum. For Clayton, it’s about a “selfless” investigation of the source before finding one’s own voice within the tradition. For Souza, whose acclaimed albums (Brazilian Duos, North and South, Cometa) have paid tribute to poets and songwriters, it’s an act of reverence.
“We rise because other people have risen. We’ve been lifted,” Souza explained. “My work doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s a moment in time that comes from many moments that have come before… Paying homage is the idea of bowing my head and being humbled by the beautiful masterpiece that other people have created.”
In the end, Gerald Clayton’s path from USC Thornton to the world’s stage was the epitome of the school’s mission: To cultivate not just technically proficient musicians, but thoughtful, ethical artists who understand their place in a rich historical lineage. The past informs the present, and the present writes the script for the future. For the students gathered at Carson Soundstage that night, that future felt immediate and attainable, a path illuminated by the guidance of a mentor who once sat where they sit, embracing the sacred space of artistic conversation.
Written by Mia Arevalo, Public Relations and Advertising major and student journalist on assignment for the USC Thornton Office of Communications. Event photos by USC Dornsife political science major Mallory Snyder. Featured photo by Ogata – licensed with permission by the artist.
