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Gerald Cleaver is an accomplished African-American jazz drummer and composer born on May 4, 1963, in Detroit, Michigan. He is recognized as one of the leading figures in the New York jazz scene, known for his versatility across various stylistic realms. Cleaver has collaborated with prominent jazz musicians such as Tommy Flanagan, Barry Harris, Ray Bryant, and members of the AACM, including Roscoe Mitchell, Muhal Richard Abrams, and Wadada Leo Smith. He is the leader of several bands, including Uncle June, which reflects on the personal and familial challenges of Black Americans during The Great Migration, Violet Hour, a tribute to Detroit, Black Host, an avant-garde group, and Farmers By Nature, a free-improvising collective co-led with William Parker and Craig Taborn. Raised in Detroit, Cleaver was inspired by his father, drummer John Cleaver, Jr., and began playing drums at an early age. He also played violin and trumpet during his school years and gained experience with local jazz masters. Cleaver attended the University of Michigan, where he majored in music education and received a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Study Grant to study with drummer Victor Lewis. After graduating in 1992, he began teaching in Detroit, working with various notable musicians. In 1995, he became an assistant professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Michigan and later joined the faculty at Michigan State University. Cleaver moved to New York in 200

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