James Earl Clay (September 8, 1935 – January 6, 1995) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and flutist.
[1] Clay then played with freer musicians including Don Cherry, Billy Higgins, and Ornette Coleman, before returning to Dallas in 1958.
[1] Back in California, he led a quartet with Roosevelt Wardell, Jimmy Bond, and Frank Butler, but soon returned to Texas.
[1] Grove wrote that "Clay's style revealed a bop-oriented approach, reminiscent of an angular Lester Young.
"[1] Clay in the late 1980s said: "Texas tenors are known for playing in a raunchy, straight-forward manner, with lots of emotion and few frills.