Blues pianist and songwriter Jon Cleary delivers a seminar in the history and tradition of the New Orleans blues piano style to an audience at Loyola University, New Orleans. He discusses major figures like James Booker, Professor Longhair and Jelly Roll Morton, and places their work in the larger context of the musical traditions of the Caribbean rim. He also shares his thoughts on songwriting technique, on managing your copyrights, and on collaborating in the studio with “name” artists.

Blues pianist and songwriter Jon Cleary discusses the fundamental skills that singers must master before they are ready to perform in public, with an audience at Loyola University, New Orleans.

Blues pianist and songwriter Jon Cleary discusses the art of songwriting, what you can and can’t control about whether a song is great, or becomes a hit, and what you can do to try to help the process along, with an audience at Loyola University, New Orleans.

Blues pianist and songwriter Jon Cleary plays his song “When You Get Back” as an example of his approach to the art of songwriting, as well as his personal piano style.

Blues pianist and songwriter Jon Cleary discusses who handles the business side of his life, and why it’s good for a songwriter to control their own publishing, with an audience at Loyola University, New Orleans

Blues pianist and songwriter Jon Cleary shares his thoughts on why getting better at playing your instrument means setting aside more time to practice.

Blues pianist and songwriter Jon Cleary discusses his love for reggae and rocksteady, and discusses the challenges and pitfalls of trying to draw inspiration from – or fake – a genre you aren’t intimately familiar with.

Blues pianist and songwriter Jon Cleary discusses how he began learning to play music as a child – what instruments he tried, how his self-teaching progressed, and some of the central insights he discovered along the way that helped his musicianship come together.

Blues pianist and songwriter Jon Cleary discusses his background and his experiences touring and writing for Bonnie Raitt and with his own group, the Absolute Monster Gentlemen.

Blues pianist and songwriter Jon Cleary concludes his seminar on the blues piano style of New Orleans with an improvisation in the boogie woogie style, which is one of the building blocks of the New Orleans sound.

Blues pianist and songwriter Jon Cleary discusses the great New Orleans pianist James Booker’s style and technique, how Booker’s left hand style fits into the larger tradition of New Orleans blues, and what makes the New Orleans blues piano style harmonically distinct from other traditions.

Blues pianist and songwriter Jon Cleary illustrates his discussion of New Orleans pianist James Booker’s harmonic technique with a performance of the Booker tune, “Pop’s Dilemma.”

Blues pianist and songwriter Jon Cleary continues his discussion of the New Orleans blues piano style by spotlighting the great Professor Longhair and demonstrating how his style was derived in part from the Caribbean music and culture that moved through the Port of New Orleans in the 1930s and 1940s. He also shows how Professor Longhair’s famous tune, “Tipitina” combines a traditional New Orleans blues form with rhythms derived from Cuban music.

Blues pianist and songwriter Jon Cleary continues his discussion of the New Orleans blues piano style by discussing the rumba rhythm and the way in which it was played by the great Professor Longhair.

Blues pianist and songwriter Jon Cleary continues his discussion of the New Orleans blues piano style with a showcase of Jelly Roll Morton’s tune “The Crave” and drawing a connection between that song and the Cuban and Argentine rhythmic patterns that would ultimately become the tango and the danzón.

Blues pianist and songwriter Jon Cleary shares his thoughts on New Orleans’ unique music culture and heritage, whether the traditional styles are in danger of being neglected by younger generations, and whether it helps or harms a musical tradition to have a foundation established and dedicated to its preservation.