Gerald William Clayton is a jazz pianist best known for his work with Roy Hargrove. He is the son of bassist/bandleader John Clayton and the nephew of multi-instrumentalist wind player Jeff Clayton.Gerald Clayton studied classical piano with Linda Buck for eleven years starting at the age of six.

He graduated from Los Angeles County High School for the Arts in 2002. At graduation, he was selected by the Music for Youth Foundation as one of four young musicians to receive a scholarship. In September, 2002, he received the Shelly Manne Award for emerging young artists from the Los Angeles Jazz Society.

In 2006, he received the Bachelor of Arts degree through the Jazz Studies program at USC Thornton School of Music; a program that included his father as senior lecturer. He took second place in the Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz Piano Competition.

In 2009 he released his debut as a leader, titled Two-Shade .