As we head to New Orleans-Part 2

There are probably and literally a Hundred things I want to Do, See, Eat and Hear every time I go to NOLA. There is one musician that I’ve always wanted to catch Live but haven’t been able to. That’s never been an issue, as the town is freaking full of badasses and I’ve never been disappointed in the decades that I’ve been going there.
But there’s this one guy…
While we are talking about badasses, one of the most highly respected NOLA Pianists today is Jon Cleary. Like Taj Mahal, he is a walking jukebox of Musical styles. While Taj is crazy deep in Blues, Folk, and Caribbean stuff, Cleary is that way when it comes to New Orleans Piano. Here’s the link that introduced me to him…

I should say at this time, I grew up disliking the Piano. I was forced to take Piano lessons from a Nun at my grade school. ‘Nuff said. That, and my Dad used to play these old songs on our Piano that I found super-corny.
Now, I wasn’t anti-Keyboard. I’ve always had a thing for the B3. There’s nothing like a Hammond B3 screaming though a Leslie. And I’ve always been a fan of a great Synthesizer line, whether it be a Prog solo or Bernie Worrell going deep on a P-Funk synth line, certain keyboards have always been cool by me.
….but the Piano? Not so much.
The exception was in NOLA Music. Once I started heading down, I started hearing how it was the perfect bridge between Melodic Music and Percussive Music. Any High School Band member will tell you that the Piano is classified as a Percussion Instrument, and nowhere is that better heard than in NOLA, where there’s a local history of creative musicians bending that thing to their will in ways not found elsewhere. I began to hear the Piano in a new light.
Here’s how the puzzle pieces all fit together in perfect New Orleans style.
Guess who is playing at the Maple Leaf on Friday November 16th, right before Mr. Blotto, promoting his new Album?
Jon Cleary…the one guy I’ve always wanted to see live but never could.

He goes on at 8.
We hit at 10.
…Same Room. Same Stage. Same Night.

Thanks NOLA…

-Chief