After thirty-five years of being at the forefront of the ever-evolving musical landscape of New Orleans, Grammy Award winner Jon Cleary decided to bring that sound back home, both figuratively and literally. He assembled his Absolute Monster Gentlemen (his acclaimed all-star big band) in his home studio in the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans, drew up a setlist of some of his most beloved songs– and some new favorites– and rolled tape.
Long time Monster Gentlemen Cornell Williams and A.J. Hall anchor the band on bass and drums, respectively. They are joined by Nigel Hall (Lettuce) on Hammond organ, Pedro Segundo (Ronnie Scott’s All Stars) on percussion, Xavier Lynn (MonoNeon, Ledisi) on guitar, and an all-star horn section of Aaron Narcisse (Delfeayo Marsalis & the Uptown Jazz Orchestra), Charlie Halloran (Squirrel Nut Zippers, Preservation Hall All Stars) and Jason Mingledorff (Galactic).
“Sophisticated, nasty, good-time, low-down funk is the folk music of New Orleans,” Cleary says. “Everyone playing on this recording is a New Orleanian by birth or by choice, having learned their craft at the feet of the masters who in turn were taught by the old lions in their day - it's a tradition stretching back over two hundred years. The roots go deep, but each generation, growing up with street parades and second-lines, absorbs the old and introduces the new, gently coaxing the essential essence into and out of each succeeding decade.”
Join us for an unforgetable night, where they are sure to bring it for Jazz Fest!
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