Jon Cleary (musician)

Jon Cleary

Jon Cleary (2008)
Background information
Birth name Jonathan Cleary
Born August 11, 1962
Origin Kent, England
Genres Funk, R&B, Soul
Instruments Piano, Guitar, Drums, Bass
Years active 1980–present
Labels FHQ Records, Basin Street Records, Virgin/Point Blank,Ace Records
Associated acts Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Snooks Eaglin
Website www.joncleary.com
Notable instruments
Roland Corporation, Roland RD-700GX, Roland RD-700SX, Roland RD-600, Roland RD-500, Nord Electro 2, Nord Electro rack 2, Fender Stratocaster, Hammond B3 Organ

Jon Cleary (born August 11, 1962)[1] is a funk and R&B musician based in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was originally from Cranbrook in Kent, England, and has studied for the past 20 years the "musical culture and life of New Orleans," according to his website.[2] Cleary is an accomplished pianist as well as being a multi-instrumentalist, a vocalist and a song-writer.

Jon Cleary performs with a number of music luminaries including Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, B.B. King, Ryan Adams, and Eric Burdon. Compositions by Cleary have been recorded by notable musicians including Taj Mahal, Bonnie Raitt and most recently John Scofield on his album, Piety Street.

Cleary's current band is Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, who have two current albums. Cleary has three solo albums.

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 Jellybean 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 and the Maple Leaf Bar. They are also a mainstay at the annual Jazz and Heritage Festival and have played at Bonnaroo as well as other music festivals. Rolling Stone's David Fricke 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 combined swinging product of local keyboard tradition, Cleary’s vocal-songwriting flair for moody Seventies soul and the spunky-meters roll of his Gentlemen".[3]

Discography

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Fricke, David (2004-04-21). "Jon Cleary: Pin Your Spin". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2008-12-03.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jon Cleary.