Main Blues

Bettye LaVette is one of the greatest soul singers in American music history, possessed of an incredibly expressive voice that one moment will exude a formidable level of strength and intensity and the next will appear vulnerable, reflective, reeking of heartbreak.

Bettye’s recent album Interpretations (2010), produced by Bettye, Rob Mathes and Michael Stevens, is a 12-song journey through compositions by the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Traffic and Pink Floyd, among others, before concluding right where the very idea for the new album started: Bettye's visceral show-stopping rendition of The Who's "Love Reign O'er Me" from the 2008 Kennedy Center Honors, which is included as an extended bonus track.

New Orleans’ Jon Cleary is a triple threat - with a salty sweet voice combining soulful vocals, masterful piano skills, and a knack for composing infectious grooves with melodic hooks and sharp lyrics. He balances a career performing on solo piano, with noted funk band The Absolute Monster Gentlemen, and his new power trio Piano, Bass & Drums, alongside a career as a notorious hired gun with the likes of Bonnie Raitt and John Scofield. Cleary is featured on vocals and keyboards on the recently released, Piety Street by John Scofield & The Piety Street Band. Cleary has toured with Bonnie Raitt since 1999, and has appeared on the albums Silver Lining and Souls Alike. Cleary has produced five recordings to date including his latest, a live recording from Sydney, Australia called “Mo Hippa”, which features a mix of the styles that inform the New Orleans’ sound -- from island rhythms, to soul-drenched funk jams.