Jon Cleary is a triple treat, combining soulful vocals, masterful piano skills, and a knack for composing infectious grooves with melodic hooks and sharp lyrics his name is synonymous with down and dirty New Orleans funk, whether it be solo with a grand piano, or fronting his renowned band The Absolute Monster Gentleman.

Australian fans are in store for a new musical indulgence this March when Cleary returns to our shores for the world premiere (outside of New Orleans) of his acoustic trio of piano, upright bass and drums, simply called, Piano, Bass & Drums.

This short tour includes performances at the East Coast Blues and Roots Festival’s as well as a string of club dates in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Newcastle and one very intimate solo show in Sydney.

The new line-up includes New Orleans native James Singleton on Double Bass who has played with legends like Aaron Neville, Professor Longhair, James Booker & Harry Connick Jr and Cajun Country born Doug Belote (Willie Nelson, Ivan Neville) on drums. His new trio is a powerhouse and gives Cleary a chance to flex a different set of musical muscles but with all the ingredients Australian audiences have come to love him for – that trademark piano style, soul, jazz, Classic R&B, and tropical rhythms embodying the flavours of New Orleans Funk

Cleary remarks, “I’ve long been harboring a hankering to drive a band from behind the wheel of an old acoustic piano to bash out a selection from my side stash of material. These include songs I’ve been writing, borrowing and stealing for swampy Caribbean drums and upright bass.”

Previous tours of Australia have included sold-out shows, numerous renowned festival spots, and infamous packed-to-the-rafters secret gigs. Experience this powerhouse firsthand at venues across Australia this February and March

“Jon Cleary is the ninth wonder in the world.” – Bonnie Raitt

“He may be just one man and a piano but Jon Cleary is an energetic master of his field.” – Independent Weekly – 2008

“Cleary plays piano as if he’s revving up an engine and sings as if a line drawing of his behatted self were next to ’soul’ in Webster’s.”- The Washington Post June 15, 2005 – Pamela Murray Winters

John Cleary Australian Tour Dates 2010

Thursday 25th March: Northcote Social Club, Melbourne VIC
Ph: (03) 9486 1677 Tickets www.northcotesocialclub.com

Friday 26th March: Jive, Adelaide SA
Ph: (08) 8211 6683 www.jivevenue.com or www.moshtix.com.au

Monday 29th March: Raval, Sydney NSW *Solo Show*
Ph: (02) 8262 8888 – Tickets: www.raval.com.au or www.moshtix.com.au

Tuesday 30th March: Note’s, Sydney NSW
Ph: (02) 9557 5111 – Tickets: www.noteslive.net.au or www.oztix.com.au

Wednesday 31st March: Lizotte’s, Newcastle NSW
Ph: (02) 4956 2066 – Tickets: www.newcastle.lizottes.com.au

Thursday 1st April: Note’s, Sydney NSW
Ph: (02) 9557 5111 – Tickets: www.noteslive.net.au or www.oztix.com.au

Friday 2nd April: The Brass Monkey, Sydney NSW
Ph (02) 9544 3844 – Tickets: www.brassmonkey.com.au or www.oztix.com.au

Saturday 3rd April: East Coast Blues & Roots Festival, Byron Bay NSW
Tickets: www.bluesfest.com.au

Sunday 4thApril: East Coast Blues & Roots Festival, Byron Bat NSW
Tickets: www.bluesfest.com.au

For Further Information:
Publicity | Kathryn Holloway – kathryn@enkompass.com.au +61 (0) 412 771 042

In the hallowed ranks of New Orleans “piano professors,” Jon Cleary is on the tenure track. With his new trio: Piano, Bass & Drums, Cleary utilizes an acoustic format as a vehicle for his varied compositions embodying the flavors of New Orleans Funk, Classic R&B, and tropical rhythms.

Cleary remarks, “I’ve long been harboring a hankering to drive a band from behind the wheel of an old acoustic piano to bash out a selection from my side stash of material. These include songs I’ve been writing, borrowing and stealing for swampy Caribbean drums and upright bass or Tuba.”

The lineup features Lafayette-native Doug Belote (Larry Carlton, Jerry Douglas) on drums, multi-instrumentalist Matt Perrine (Bonerama, The Nightcrawlers, Stanton Moore), and New Orleans stalwart James Singleton (Astral Project, Professor Longhair, James Booker) who alternate gigs on upright bass, with JC on acoustic piano.

For Cleary this is a chance to, “Paint from another palette, flexing a few other musical muscles, loading up with a different kind of ammunition. By virtue of the fact the guys making the music are products of the Big Easy, it goes without saying the ingredients of the music are going to include soul, jazz and funk. We’ll be squeezing Caribbean juice out of a bag of ‘back in the day’ grooves, working in a bunch of fresh new tunes and parading a second-line street beat, with some red-hot peppers to crank up the heat.”

Born in England and bred in New Orleans, Jon Cleary is a triple threat, combining soulful vocals, masterful piano skills, and a knack for composing infectious grooves with melodic hooks and sharp lyrics. He balances a career performing on solo piano, with noted funk band The Absolute Monster Gentlemen, and his new power trio Piano, Bass & Drums, alongside a career as a notorious hired gun with the likes of Bonnie Raitt and John Scofield. Cleary is featured on vocals and keyboards on the recently released, Piety Street by John Scofield & The Piety Street Band. Cleary has toured with Bonnie Raitt since 1999, and has appeared on the albums Silver Lining and Souls Alike. On these recordings, Raitt covered the Cleary originals, “Fool’s Game,” “Monkey Business,” “Unnecessarily Mercenary,” and ”Love on One Condition.”

Cleary has produced five recordings to date including his latest, a live recording from Sydney, Australia called Mo Hippa, which features a mix of the styles that inform the New Orleans’ sound — from island rhythms, to soul-drenched funk jams. Prior to this he released Pin Your Spin (2004), Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen (2002), Moonburn (1999), and Alligator Lips & Dirty Rice (1994). Cleary has a long list of recording credits with artists such as Taj Mahal, Keb Mo, India Arie, and Ryan Adams.

joncleary.com