‘America’s Songbird’ Myrna Clayton Discusses How She Became The Nation’s Cultural Ambassador
Known as “America’s Songbird,” Myrna Clayton has spread her wings and sang all across the world. From Namibia, Africa to Lithuania, she and her band, “The Myrna Clayton Experience” has performed jazz favorites for all types of audiences.
She was raised in Atlanta singing in her father’s church at 5 years old. After getting her bachelors at Alabama A & M University and an MBA from Atlanta University, she decided to launch her career as a jazz singer.
She has gone on to open for top artists such as Ruben Studdard, Alex Bugnon, Lalah Hathaway, and The Manhattans. In early April, she was invited to Namibia with her band by the U.S. Embassy for Cultural Arts Exchange to play for their “Jazz Appreciation Month” concert.
“Very near and dear to my heart, I requested to reach underserved populations,” she tells “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes, “so we had the pleasure of going to an orphanage and exposing them to American music.”
After their travels to Africa, Clayton was named the official Cultural Ambassador for the U.S. State Department.
Since returning home to Atlanta, she created the first Atlanta Jazz International Sound Series at the Red Light Cafe this Saturday. The series will be performed the fourth Friday each month through the end of the year and it will be highlighting top international artists who live in Atlanta. The first in the series will showcase Brazilian singer, Fernanda Noronha on April 26.
Clayton also started a non-profit organization called “Abel 2.” The organization features talented singers who are disabled or in undeserved communities. “Abel 2” also helps ex-offenders and non-violent inmates become productive citizens of society again through the power of music and art.
Clayton will be performing for “International Jazz Day: Atlanta Jam” on April 30 at Red Light Cafe in Midtown at 8 p.m.
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