The American debut from highly respected sideman and bandleader Jon Cleary is a welcome treat. Though the pianist hails from the United Kingdom, he's spent considerable time in New Orleans, and it shows; Moonburn is packed full of Big Easy blues with a healthy seasoning of jazz and soul. There's enough smoke in Cleary's vocals to mark him as a veteran, as if his impressive list of side projects (he's recorded with Johnny Adams, Taj Mahal, Maria Muldaur, Junior Wells, and B.B. King, among others) weren't enough, and his piano playing has that quality of easy smoothness that takes years to achieve. Whether he's rocking out with "Unnecessarily Mercenary" or the wildly uptempo "Gettin' Crazy Up in Here" or slowing things down with "Heavy Under Pressure" or "Port Street Blues," Cleary is firmly in control. One hopes that we'll hear more solo work from this impressive pianist. --Genevieve Williams