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.