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Perhaps a little jazz will help the COVID-19 blues.
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Canadian jazz musician and local resident Jim Clayton鈥檚 nightly online Piano Bar has attracted thousands of followers for just that reason.
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Since March this year, Clayton鈥檚 has been livestreaming himself playing the piano (occasionally with his daughter Lenny) on the Jim Clayton Jazz Facebook page.
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On Dec. 28, he鈥檒l perform the 250th episode of 2020. His page has now grown to 27,000 followers from an initial 250 from across the western hemisphere. He also performed the Piano Bar on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to help lift spirits.
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鈥淚t鈥檚 one of those years there鈥檚 gonna be folks by themselves over the holidays,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a bit of a community that鈥檚 grown up with the Piano Bar.鈥�
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For his first 125 performances, Clayton included a virtual tip jar on his page, allowing viewers to donate any amount of money to a fund that he dedicated to a series of causes. He raised money for Glad Day Bookshop鈥檚 emergency fund, the New Orleans鈥� musicians鈥� clinic, the ACLU, and the Legacy of Hope Foundation to raise awareness of residential schools.
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Because COVID-19 restrictions slashed his source of income, Clayton set up a Patreon account for the virtual tip jar. But soon after when he heard the Daily Bread Food Bank鈥檚 holiday food drive cancelled, he decided to split the tip jar 50/50 with the food bank for the month of December.
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He takes two days off a week now, performing five days a week online.
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鈥淚鈥檝e never had a Piano Bar where I wasn鈥檛 delighted at the end of it,鈥� Clayton said.
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He recalls getting positive messages from people all over the world, including a frontline nurse in Argentina.
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鈥淪he wrote to say thank you,鈥� Clayton said. 鈥淪he would listen to me during her long shifts at the hospital.鈥�
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鈥淭hat cheers me up, and it keeps me going,鈥� he added.
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It all started with an 鈥淎sk Me Anything鈥� session on his personal Facebook page with his nine-year-old daughter Lenny. After a couple days of livestreams behind the piano, he noticed there was a demand for his performances. He swapped the livestream to his Jim Clayton Jazz page, invited people to watch, and has been at it since.
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Clayton played almost every night of the first 150 nights, save the industry-wide blackout Tuesday that occurred following the death of George Floyd on May 25.
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He now takes plays most days except for Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
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鈥淚鈥檓 grateful anybody watched,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t keeps me playing, and if I didn鈥檛 have this for a sense of routine, the days would blur together.鈥�
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To watch Jim Clayton鈥檚 Piano Bar, visit his Facebook page: facebook.com/jimclaytonjazz
