Clay Benjamin
Delivering a jazz, blues, gospel, and rock fusion to audiences.
Clay Benjamin discovered his love of music when he first heard a cassette tape of The Yellow Jackets. Benjamin grew up listening solely to gospel music, but when he heard the sounds of contemporary fusion jazz he was introduced to a whole new world of music he had never heard before.
Benjamin was born in Palatka, Florida, and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was able to develop his own style of music surrounded by blues and country. He began playing guitar at the age of 13, joined his first band, One Accord, at the age of 16, and continued to perfect his stage presence.
In 1997 he became a lead guitarist for smooth jazz artist Paul Howards and a fusion jazz group called Segue. For years he opened for artists such as Ray Charles, James Brown, Chuck Loeb, The Commodores, and The Yellow Jackets, the band that originally changed Benjamin's life.
Later, Benjamin started his first solo jazz instrumental project as a writer, producer, and performer. His album, Intervention, the product of his solo project, is available on iTunes, Amazon, and via most music stores.
