Cranbrook’s Grammy Award winning musician Jon Cleary

As the 62nd Grammy Awards took place this January, CommunityAd thought they would delve into the career of Cranbrook’s own Grammy Award winning musician Jon Cleary.

Born in Cranbrook on August 11th 1962, Cleary attended Colliers Green Primary School, Angely Secondary and then Cranbrook School. Music was always going to be a part of Cleary’s life as he was born into a very musical family with his grandparents having performed in London in the 1940s under the respective stage names of Sweet Dolly Daydream and Frank Neville, The Little Fellow with the Educated Feet. Jon’s father also played guitar which would be Jon’s first instrument but it was his uncle who inspired his love for R&B by returning from trips to America and bringing recordings of Professor Longhair and others.

As a teen, Cleary grew increasingly interested in funk-infused music and R&B and his focus became more on art and music than academic pursuits. Inspired from his uncle’s musical gifts across the pond, he decided to fly to New Orleans in 1981 aged 19.

Jon’s initial pilgrimage saw him go to the Maple Leaf Bar, a storied venue which then featured such great blues-rooted eclectic pianists as Roosevelt Sykes and James Brooker. First working as a painter at the Maple Leaf, Cleary’s passion, talent and work ethic soon got him promoted to playing piano there.

The news of Cleary’s talent would spread around town and New Orleans R&B legends started to hire him such as Snooks Eaglin, Johnny Adams and Jessie Hill. The soul and blues legend, who Cleary would listen to as a teenager from his uncle’s imports from America, Allen Toussaint also started to listen and respect the work of the Cranbrook man.

Cleary stayed in New Orleans after making a name for himself and he recorded his first album of nine songs in 1989 with his ever-elevating profile leading to global touring work in the bands of Taj Mahal, John Scofield, Dr John and Bonnie Raitt.

The funk, R&B and soul musician has also led his own band for over two decades, Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen, consisting of Cleary on keyboard and vocals, Derwin Perkins on guitar, Cornnell C. Williams on bass and backup vocals and A.J Hall on drums. The band have released one album and all the band members, except for Cleary, were born in New Orleans.

Jon’s solo work received even more praise when at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards in 2015, his album Go Go Juice won the category for Best Regional Roots Music Album. Since this accolade, Jon has also released another album Dyna-mite (2018).

Cleary has also featured on other artists’ songs and albums, in 2017 he was involved in the Plays Well with Others album by Greg Koch. In 2016, he played piano on Annika Chambers’ 2016 album Wild & Free and in 2007 he made an appearance on the Goin’ Home: A tribute to Fats Domino album with friend Bonnie Raitt.

For more information and tour dates, visit www.joncleary.com

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