Honoring Jeff Clayton Dear Vail Jazz Family, I write to you with a very heavy heart. We have lost one of the original members of our Jazz Family. Jeff Clayton has passed away, following a long and valiant struggle with cancer. Jeff’s contributions to this organization are so important and so far reaching that I hardly know where to start, so I will start at the beginning. The first time I met Jeff was in 1995 when he came to the inaugural Vail Jazz Party. As a novice event producer, I only knew Jeff from the perspective of being a jazz fan, but that all changed that magical weekend when his beautiful tone on his saxophone and his openness and loving nature captivated me and all of our audience and I knew that I wanted to get to know Jeff better and hoped that one day we would become friends. Over time we did become close friends, for as I got to know Jeff better, I realized how caring, loving and selfless he was and our friendship blossomed and grew.