New Orleans musician Jon Cleary is set to perform live at Chickie Wah Wah on Wednesday, May 17, at 8 p.m. The tickets for the show are priced at $20 in advance and $27 on the day of the show.

Cleary’s love for New Orleans music goes back to his childhood in the rural British village of Cranbrook, Kent, where he was raised in a musical family. His maternal grandparents were performers in London in the 1940s, and his uncle brought back a copy of an Allen Toussaint LP and two suitcases full of New Orleans R&B 45s after a two-year vacation in New Orleans.

Cleary’s knowledge of Toussaint’s work expanded significantly, and in 1981, he flew to New Orleans for an initial visit and took a cab straight from the airport to the Maple Leaf Bar. Cleary first worked as a painter at the Maple Leaf Bar but soon graduated to play piano there.

As word of Cleary’s talent began to spread around town, he was hired by New Orleans R&B legends such as Snooks Eaglin, Earl “Trick Bag” King, Johnny Adams, and more while also gaining the respect of the great Crescent City pianists Dr. John and the late Allen Toussaint.

Jon Cleary has led his group, the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, for over two decades, but he still collaborates frequently with old friends like Taj Mahal, John Scofield, Dr. John, and Bonnie Raitt.