Wilbur Dorsey “Buck” Clayton (November 12, 1911 – December 8, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter who was a member of Count Basie‘s orchestra. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong, first hearing the record “Confessin’ That I Love You” as he passed by a shop window.

Clayton learned to play the piano from the age of six. His father was an amateur musician associated with the family’s local church, who was responsible for teaching his son the scales on a trumpet, which he did not take up until his teens. From the age of 17, Clayton was taught the trumpet by Bob Russell, a member of George E. Lee‘s band. In his early twenties he was based in California, and was briefly a member of Duke Ellington‘s Orchestra and worked with other leaders. Clayton was also taught at this time by trumpeter Mutt Carey, who later emerged as a prominent west-coast revivalist in the 1940s. He also met Louis Armstrongwhile Armstrong was performing at Sebastian’s Cotton Club, who taught him how to glissando on his trumpet. After high school, he moved to Los Angeles. He later formed a band named 14 Gentlemen from Harlem, in which he was the leader of the 14-member orchestra.