Jon Cleary (born August 11, 1962
BMA. ) is a British-born American

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and R&B musician based in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, where he has studied the "musical culture and life of New Orleans" according to his website. Cleary is an accomplished pianist as well as being a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter. Cleary performs with a number of prolific musicians including

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

Ryan Adams David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, artist, and poet. He has released 23 albums, as well as three studio albums as a former member of alt-country band Whiskeytown. In 2000, Adams left ...

, and

Eric Burdon Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer. He was previously the lead vocalist of R&B and rock band the Animals and funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, pow ...

. Compositions by Cleary have been recorded by such notable musicians as Taj Mahal, Bonnie Raitt, and

John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26, 1951), sometimes referred to as "Sco", is an American guitarist and composer whose music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention in the ...

on his 2009 album '' Piety Street''. Cleary's current band is Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen, who have released two albums. Their album ''Go Go Juice'' won the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for

Best Regional Roots Music Album The Grammy Award for Best Regional Roots Music Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 as the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for releasing albums in the regionally based traditional Americ ...

in the

58th Annual Grammy Awards The 58th Annual Grammy Awards was held on February 15, 2016, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognizes the best recordings, compositions and artists of the eligibility year, which was from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 20 ...

Early life

Cleary is originally from Cranbrook,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, in the south-east of England. He attended Colliers Green Primary School, Angley Secondary and then Cranbrook School. His father played guitar but it was his uncle, returning from trips to America bringing recordings of Professor Longhair and others, who inspired his love for R&B. Cleary's focus was always more on art and music and everything that goes with it, than academic pursuits, and he soon left schooling behind to develop a life in music.

Career

Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen

Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen consist of Cleary on keyboard and vocals, Derwin "Big D" Perkins (born 1974) on guitar, Cornell C. Williams (born 1962) on bass and backup vocals, and A.J. Hall on drums. All of the band members, except for Cleary, were born in New Orleans. The band is generally well received, drawing large crowds of locals at classic New Orleans venues like

Tipitina's Tipitina's is a music venue located at the corner of Napoleon Avenue and Tchoupitoulas Street in Uptown New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. History Local music enthusiasts opened the venue on January 14, 1977.Maple Leaf Bar The Maple Leaf Bar is a music performance venue in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It is also a bar and hosts other events. Background The Maple Leaf is on Oak Street in the Carrollton neighborhood. Opened on February 24, 1974, it is ...

. They are also a mainstay at the annual Jazz and Heritage Festival and have played at

Bonnaroo The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Since its first year in 2002, it has been held at what is now Great Stage Park on a farm in M ...

as well as other music festivals. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

David Fricke David Fricke is an American music journalist who serves as the senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, where he writes predominantly about rock music. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 years. I ...

wrote of the ''Pin Your Spin'' album: "Cleary can be an absolute monster on his own, but Cleary’s full combo R&B is as broad, deep and roiling as the

Mississippi river The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

, the combined swinging product of local keyboard tradition, Cleary’s vocal-songwriting flair for moody Seventies soul and the spunky-meters roll of his Gentlemen".

Other

Cleary is interviewed on screen and appears in performance footage in the 2005 documentary film '' Make It Funky!'', which presents a history of New Orleans music and its influence on

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

. In the film, Cleary performs a piano duo of "

Tipitina "Tipitina" is a song written and made famous by Professor Longhair. The song has been widely covered, and the Professor Longhair version was recorded in 1953 for Atlantic Records. "Tipitina" was first released in 1953. A previously unreleased ...

" with

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descri ...

. Cleary played piano on

Annika Chambers Annika Shattrelle Chambers (born August 7, 1985) is an American soul blues singer and songwriter. Chambers has released three albums, and she won a Blues Music Award in 2019 in the 'Soul Blues Female Artist of the Year' category. Her sophomore ...

' 2016 album, ''Wild & Free''.

Discography

;Albums * ''Alligator Lips & Dirty Rice'' (

Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

, 1994) * ''Moonburn'' (

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

/Poinblank, 1999) * ''Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen'' (

Basin Street Basin Street or Rue Bassin in French, is a street in New Orleans, Louisiana. It parallels Rampart Street one block lakeside, or inland, from the boundary of the French Quarter, running from Canal Street down 5 blocks past Saint Louis Cemetery. It c ...

, 2002) * ''Pin Your Spin'' (Basin Street, 2004) * ''Do Not Disturb'' (EP) ( FHQ, 2007) * ''Mo Hippa'' (FHQ, 2008) * ''Occapella'' (FHQ, 2012) * ''Go Go Juice'' (FHQ, 2015) *''Dyna-Mite'' (FHQ, 2018) ;Appearances * '' Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino'' - with

- Track 10 "

I'm in Love Again ''I'm In Love Again'' is the sixth studio album by American singer Patti LaBelle in 1983. It was released by Philadelphia International Records and Sony Music Entertainment on November 25, 1983, in the United States. LaBelle's commercial breakth ...

/All by Myself" (

Vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives fr ...

, 2007) * '' Plays Well with Others'' - by

Greg Koch Greg Koch (born June 14, 1955) is a former American football tackle and guard who played eleven seasons in the National Football League, mainly with the Green Bay Packers. In 2010, Koch was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. Koc ...

- Track 3 "Walk Before You can Crawl" (Rhymes With Chalk Music, 2013)

References

External links

Jon Cleary's official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cleary, Jon 1962 births American funk musicians American rhythm and blues musicians Rhythm and blues pianists Rhythm and blues musicians from New Orleans People from Cranbrook, Kent Songwriters from Louisiana Living people 21st-century pianists