JONATHON LONG Interview & Masterclass
Raised by the banks of the Mississippi, Jonathon plays an electrifying fusion of jazz, blues and country. We joined the slick but soulful guitarist from Baton Rouge to talk bayou blues – and pick up some of his best licks first hand…
He’s a bona fide bluesman from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Jonathon offers us some exciting ideas to spice up our own playing.
Some time ago we had one of those wonderful and rare ‘hallelujah’ moments where you get truly knocked off your feet by a player you’d never encountered before. Jonathon Long, a 32-year-old from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, may not be a household name quite yet, but his effortless command of country, jazz and blues licks recalls greats such as Danny Gatton – not a comparison one uses lightly.
When we caught up with Jonathon last summer, he was playing on a blues-themed cruise hosted by Joe Bonamassa. But he’s about as far from the popular blues-rocker as can be, citing Johnny A, Tony Rice and Guthrie Govan as equally important influences in his rich inner musical landscape. He’s also got huge chops, which he delivers with the passion of a travelling preacher. We joined the charismatic Southern Suhr-slinger to get to the roots of his eclectic and electrifying style and learn some of his hottest licks direct from the source.
Louisiana is a state with a lot of music history. How did you make a name for yourself on that scene?
“I got pulled out of the music store when I was 10 or 11 years old by this lady named Dixie Rose in the town I was living in and she said, ‘You’re great, you need to come and be heard.’ So I played with her a couple of years and then eventually she introduced me to the blues jam at Swamp Mama’s in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. And I would just go hear these old players like Kenny Neal and Larry Garner, and Raful Neal was still alive. Just old souls and just good players.
“So the local guys at the blues jam that were out there touring and doing it were my biggest influences early on, in the beginning. I just knew that I could feel that it had to be real. You could get up there and try to imitate it, but everybody could see right through you if you just got up there and you tried to act it. You had to really feel it and be about it.
“And I could tell those people, those guys who were my early influences, were truly about what they’re singing and playing, and I wanted to feel that one day. I wanted to figure out a way to get into that sort of spirit, just that soul. Almost like, even if everything was going great and I was born a rich kid with a silver spoon in my mouth – which I wasn’t, but if I was – I would still want to find the blues. Do you know what I’m saying? I would want to feel just the struggle. That way you could really live it and be it. So I think that’s really important.
“You know, the blues comes from AfricanAmerican culture and the spirituals and the gospel. There are a lot of people that look past the history of it and they don’t give enough credit to where it comes from. I say that to say there are a lot of people that try to imitate it, but you’ve just got to feel it and have your own voice with it.”
Do the fabled ‘juke joints’ of Louisiana music lore still exist?
“There are a couple of them left, there’s not many. There’s one place called Teddy’s Juke Joint that’s been there for years and years and years in Zachary, Louisiana and it’s one of the last remaining juke joints on the blues highway. There’s not many of them left. Ground Zero Blues Club is Morgan Freeman’s spot [in Clarksdale, Mississippi], then you’ve got Teddy’s and then there are a couple of them around the Clarksdale area and stuff. But there are not many real juke joints left where it’s a shady little hole in the wall with a low ceiling and old memorabilia hanging around.
“Teddy still spins records. He don’t have a jukebox or have a CD player, none of that. He still spins original records and vinyls in a record booth and he’ll turn down the radio and talk, ‘Hey, pretty ladies, go ahead and get out there and shake that thing.’ And he’ll turn it down and kind of DJ, but he plays real records. A juke-joint party is like a backyard party. It’s like being there with your family and friends and really getting in the groove.”
A JUKE-JOINT PARTY IS LIKE A BACKYARD PARTY. IT’S LIKE BEING THERE WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND REALLY GETTING IN THE GROOVE
You’re a very eclectic player – your guitar work spans everything from country to jazz. Who are your touchstones when it comes to taste, technique and feel?
“Oh, there’s a ton of them I really like, but I’ll name three: Michael Landau, Robben Ford and… I’m just going to name a badass – Guthrie Govan. I mean, Guthrie, he’s fast but he can be as tasteful, he can play any style of music, just as good as anybody else. And then Robben’s tone is just unmatched… just the way that he approaches licks. And then with Michael Landau, there are no words.”
Robben and Michael are players that make great use of clear but sustaining tone that has its roots in Fender and Dumble amps. Are you similar when it comes to tone?
“Oh, yes. With those guys everything is clear as a bell, even when it’s got a little overdrive on it, it’s just crystal clear. But that has a lot to do with their hand strength and their