Jon Justice was born in the Chicago-Land area in 1982. His first formal music experiences came as a teen touring nationally with Bluegrass and Gospel groups. In 1999 he acted upon the visceral effect such music had had on him. He moved to Memphis seeking to be among those who shared the same deeply felt music sensibilities.
Using that musically rich city as inspiration, Justice joined with veteran pianist Steven Bowens (Percy Sledge, Exile), to form The Recipe. They toured together between 2000 and 2003, performing hundreds of shows and turning thousands onto the emerging sounds of Jon Justice.
Developing his sound and experience on the road, Justice finally took it to the studio in 2004. He joined forces with Phillip Wolfe, producer of artists such as Alabama, Trick Pony, and Dickey Betts, and Memphis Horn Wayne Jackson, contributor to the outstanding music of Otis Redding, Elvis, Aerosmith, Bonnie Raitt, and Aretha Franklin. This partnership lead to the well received debut, FORET ABOUT TIME, released in 2004.
With the release of the surprisingly diverse and deeply delightful, Forget About Time, Justice struck out on his own with the Jon Justice band. From coast to coast, town to town, the JJB toured non stop. The band opened for such diverse acts as Indigenous, Ten Years After, Joe Bonamassa, Silvertide, Tinsley Ellis, Watermelon Slim, Popa Chubby, Anthony Gomes, Guitar Shorty, and Walter Trout. Jon shared bills with music luminaries such as Buddy Guy, Johnny Johnson, Jimmy Thackery, Pinetop Perkins, and The Fabulous Thunderbirds. Justice also performed at some of the country’s best festivals including, Cincy Blues Festival, King Biscuit, Bean Blossom Blues Festival, Blues at the Crossroads, St. Mary’s Blues Fest, Blue Bonnet Festival, Turfway Park, and the Fraze Blues Festival.
In January of 2008, with his road-tested, rock-solid, touring band, Justice hit the studio once again. And this time, he did it his way. Justice wrote, arranged, and co-produced all of the 14 tracks that make up his sophomore release, THE REBOUND. “The fewer cooks in the kitchen, the better the food”, Justice says. “I wanted to be as hands-on as possible and I think it comes through on this record, man”!
His new release, THE REBOUND, (Independent May 27, 2008), is jam-packed full of original swamp-driven blues anthems, searing slide guitar, and the sweet soul ballads Justice is becoming known for. THE REBOUND evokes influences from 50’s Blues icons, 60’s Soul kings, and 70’s Funk titans. At the end of the day, 14 tracks and 70 something minutes later, this album is however all Jon Justice!
THE REBOUND, named for a girlfriend’s – friends nickname for him, takes on a grittier, more organic approach than his debut. With lyrically honest, intimate songs that recall private moments shared between individuals, snippets of political commentary, and a band from hell (actually Cincinnati), THE REBOUND is a Blues-Soul-force to be reckoned with.
Possessing a soulfulness that belies his youth, Justice is constantly exploring musical influences and expanding his repertoire. The “Jon Justice sound”, is always pushing outward towards fresh expression, reverberating as it does with Justices’ singular take on the events of day and building innovatively on the bedrock of the pioneers that came before him. “Write what you know, play what you feel. That’s what I try to bring to the table,” Justice says. “I don’t know any other way!”
Justice was recently sited as Best of Cincinnati 2008 Blues Singer/Slinger, won the Cincinnati Blues Challenge representing the Queen City at the IBC in Memphis. In 2007 Justice was nominated for three C.E.A’s for Best Blues Artist, Best Live Act, and Best Up and Coming Artist and appeared in a Bootsy Collins’, ( James Brown, Parliament Funk, George Clinton), video “BENGAL ROCK”. Jon was also honored with a C.U.LA.N award by the city of Cincinnati for his artistic contributions to the community in 2008.
THE BUZZ
"These guys will go someplace, if there's any justice in the world." - Watermelon Slim, 2008 Blues Music Award winner
"Justice is a fine guitar player and vocalist and his original music has a lot of energy and style with wonderful hooks throughout. Give Jon Justice a listen and I think you'll be very pleased with what you hear!" ? Brett Fleming, WEVL Memphis
"Listening to Jon Justice on The Rebound is like listening to the best of Delbert McClinton and Jonny Lang rolled into one, with a little Lucky Spaulding added in. Congrats Jon!" - Bill Hulsizer, Founder, Big Joe Duskin Music Education Foundation
"The kid can flat-out play!" ? Buddy Guy
"I have a strong feeling that The Rebound will cause Jon to get picked up by someone major. It might be the Cincinnati police, but at least his name will be in the paper. I can hear the cop telling him, "Son, it's about your record."" - Phillip Wolfe, producer of The Rebound
"Jon is such a talented kid with such a bright future. The live shows are just great!" ? Wayne Jackson, The Memphis Horns
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