Jon Cleary

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Jon Cleary’s breathtaking jazz/blues/funk piano is an unbridled joy.

—National Review

Uber-soulful, uber-funky and a slew of songs that other artists are sure to cover in the coming years. Jon’s vocals are spine-tinglingly good.

—Music Republic

Jon Cleary was born in the rural British village of Cranbrook, Kent, but his music is pure New Orleans. In 1981, the multi-instrumentalist and songwriter flew to New Orleans and took a cab straight to the storied Maple Leaf Bar, home to legendary blues-rooted pianists like Roosevelt Sykes and James Booker—and where he’d soon play piano, too.

Today, Cleary’s work pays homage to the classic Crescent City keyboard repertoire created by such icons as Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, Art Neville, and Dr. John. But Cleary also uses the music of New Orleans as a launching pad for a style that incorporates diverse influences, including ’70s soul and R&B, gospel, funk, Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Cuban rhythms, and much more.