"British born Jon Cleary is a triple threat-with a salty-sweet voice, masterful piano skills,
and a knack for coupling infectious grooves with melodic hooks and sharp lyrics."
- from the Bonnie Raitt website
Jon Cleary's name appears in the credits of close to 100 Blues albums from the past 25 years, so when I ordered one of his CDs and collected it from my postbox, I expected to hear some good old piano-based Blues, right???
Wrong!!!
What I heard on "Pin Your Spin" from 2004, was a singer and piano player with a very funky and tight band playing almost everything but Blues - from tunes that are like smooth Jazz, to funky New Orleans swamp music, to solid rock with an upbeat pace.
I heard vocal and musical ideas that remind me of Stevie Wonder, the Neville Brothers and Dr. John, as well as a touch of Professor Longhair's classic Boogie Woogie piano stylings.
All these influences are wrapped up into one man who makes everything he plays sound very authentic and believable. The only 2 things that I find hard to believe when I hear his music are that he's British born, and that he's not black.
To date, Cleary has made 4 albums under his own name (see the discography page on his website).
The first album - "Alligator Lips and Dirty Rice" from 1989, is officially out of print, but can be purchased online by download, or in CD form directly from Jon Cleary's website. This album is actually the closest to a normal Blues album, and contains some amazing Boogie Woogie style piano playing by Cleary, as well as some interesting original songs.
The other albums show the much more developed and individual music style that I described before, and the latest 2 were recorded with his regular band, "the Absolute Monster Gentlemen". "Monsters" they are, talent wise that is, each one a master of his instrument and comfortable in many different styles - together they make up a fantastic unit with a very high energy level in their playing.
What can I say? In the space of a few weeks since I received my first Jon Cleary album, I've become hooked, and that's why I wanted to share it with all of you...
If you are attending any live Bonnie Raitt shows in the next month, you will probably get a chance to hear Jon Cleary live, since he is both opening for her, and playing in her band on many dates throughout November and December, including opening 2 shows by the Rolling Stones!!! See the shows page for tour dates.
