Jon Cleary

Jon Cleary

Jon Cleary is a British-born blues pianist, composer and session player associated with New Orleans funk and R&B. He is born in Kent and later becomes closely linked with the New Orleans scene. He plays blues, funk, jazz and soul, and he records on Oolamalawalla Productions.

Early life and move to New Orleans

Cleary begins playing music at the age of five, originally on guitar, and forms his first band when he is 15. He is raised on blues, jazz and soul records, and his interest in New Orleans blues and jazz leads him to move to the city after graduating from art school. There he spends time at the Maple Leaf Club, where the owner gives him work painting the building’s exterior in exchange for free admission and beer. While living in a house with a piano, he practices for hours each day and decides that blues piano is his calling.

Work in London and New Orleans

After returning to London, Cleary forms a six-piece band playing traditional New Orleans R&B and gains a reputation as a skilled and courteous musician. He later moves back to New Orleans and begins playing clubs as both a featured musician and a sideman, working with Smokey Johnson, James Singleton and George Porter. Walter “Wolfman” Washington hears him play and invites him into his band, where Cleary performs for two years. During this period he develops his writing and broadens his style, including Latin influences.

Collaborations and recordings

Cleary works as a respected session and sideman with a range of artists including Bonnie Raitt, D’Angelo, Maria Muldaur, Taj Mahal and Eric Clapton. After forming his own group, the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, he works with bassist Cornell Williams, guitarist Derwin “Big D” Perkins from the gospel group the Friendly Travelers, and drummer Jeffrey “Jellybean” Alexander. The band becomes one of New Orleans’ notable combinations before visa problems force Cleary to return to the UK.

Back in England, he continues developing his approach to the blues and is contacted by producer John Porter, who has seen him perform at the Maple Leaf. Cleary records with Taj Mahal and plays at the Hollywood Athletic Club, and Porter helps with his solo debut album Moonburn in 1999. He later records an eponymous album with the Absolute Monster Gentlemen in 2002.

Style and associated act

Cleary’s work combines blues with New Orleans R&B, jazz, soul and funk, and he is closely associated with the Absolute Monster Gentlemen.