'Bringing Back The Home': Jon Cleary Celebrates The Soul Of New Orleans | NPR

Jon Cleary's songwriting is pure New Orleans. The pianist and singer has absorbed every last bit of sound from the Mississippi delta. But here's the thing: Cleary was born and raised in England.

Still, as Cleary tells All Things Considered guest host Tess Vigeland, his music-loving family provided him with a line to the Crescent City from an early age. "My uncle lived in New Orleans when I was a little kid and came back with suitcases full of funky 45s," Cleary says. "My mum loved New Orleans jazz, we had R&B and soul and jazz music in the house ... And so it would have been strange if I'd come up playing anything else, really."


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