Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen consist of Cleary on keyboard and vocals; Derwin "Big D" Perkins (1974-) on guitar; Cornell C. Williams (1962-) on bass and backup vocals; and Eddie Christmas on drums. All of the band members excepting Cleary were born in New Orleans.

The band is generally well received, drawing large crowds of locals at classic New Orleans venues like Tipitina's and the Maple Leaf Bar. They are also a mainstay at the annual Jazz and Heritage Festival and have played at Bonnaroo as well as other music festivals. Critics agree with the locals, and Cleary receives the lion's share of praise, but the critics don't fail to point out that the Absolute Monster Gentlemen complement and elevate Cleary's musicianship, as well as pointing out that they are technically skilled musicians. Rolling Stone's David Fricke wrote of the "Pin Your Spin album "Cleary can be an absolute monster on his own, but Cleary’s full combo R&B is as broad, deep and roiling as the Mississippi river, the combined swinging product of local keyboard tradition, Cleary’s vocal-songwriting flair for moody Seventies soul and the spunky-Meters roll of his Gentlemen." Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.