Jon Cleary played with Bonnie Raitt for many years before concentrating on a solo career as a keyboardist and singer-songwriter. Cleary now lives and works in New Orleans but he was born into a musical family in Kent, England in 1962. An uncle regularly brought records from America and this sparked what was to be a lifelong passion for the New Orleans rhythm & blues of Professor Longhair and other legends. As soon as he left high school in 1980, Cleary went to New Orleans where he got a job painting the exterior of the Maple Leaf Bar. One night, when James Booker failed to turn up, Cleary was allowed on stage. For his latest album Go Go Juice, Cleary wrote new material that pays tribute to the musical traditions of New Orleans. The album was highly acclaimed and won a Grammy Award.
