The album cover for The Clockmaster by Clay Wulbrecht features an ornate, antique-style clock face overlaid on a vintage illustration of a cobbled European village. The clock displays exposed gears and intricate machinery at its center, with Roman numerals in alternating red and gold tones marking the hours. The title and artist’s name appear subtly at the bottom right.

Clocking In: Clay Wulbrecht Bends Time on The Clockmaster

Clay Wulbrecht – The Clockmaster (Instru Dash Mental IDMJZ006, 2025)

Clay Wulbrecht, a State College, Pennsylvania-based composer, pianist, and arranger, presents The Clockmaster, a dynamic, daring and inventive instrumental album that intertwines jazz, funk, western classical, and progressive jazz styles. A graduate of Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music with a degree in Jazz Studies, Wulbrecht began his career as a child prodigy, releasing three albums before his teenage years.

He has received multiple accolades as a jazz songwriter and was named a Disney All-American in 2018. Wulbrecht’s performance credits include collaborations with Becca Stevens, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Rob Dixon, Amanda Gardier, and Randy Brecker. As a member of #Bloomerangs, a project alongside Rodrigo Cotelo and other Instru Dash Mental artists, he has earned nominations and awards from Uruguay’s Ministry of Education and Culture.

The Clockmaster uses time as a thematic device, weaving simple melodies through complex harmonies and shifting moods. The album features stellar keyboard, guitar and fretless bass work. It moves fluidly across orchestral meditations, bass-driven funk passages, inventive easy listening, and progressive structures, offering a continuous, imaginative soundscape.

​Musicians:

Clay Wulbrecht: piano, keyboards
Rodrigo Cotelo: guitars
Mateo Ottonello: drums
Ramiro Flores: woodwinds
Jeffrey Parker: trumpet and trombone
Marco Messina: electric bass

With:
Summer Kodama: upright bass
Federico Navarro Trías: Spanish and electric guitar
Bob Hart: upright bass
Lee Hinkle: mallets and percussion

Buy The Clockmaster.

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