Polka Dots And Ray Bans
Mike Clement
Polka Dots and Ray Bans is the third studio album by guitarist Mike Clement, released on April 24, 2026, via Cellar Live (Cellar Music Group). Originally from the west coast of Canada, Clement has established himself as an in-demand performer and sideman on the New Orleans scene since relocating there, and this album was recorded at Marigny Studios on May 19, 2025, engineered by Rick Nelson, mixed by Chris Butcher, and mastered by David Darlington, with executive production by Cory Weeds of Cellar Music. The core ensemble is an organ trio — Clement on guitar, Tris Duncan on Hammond B3 organ, and Gerald Watkins Jr. on drums — augmented on select tracks by a series of guest horn players: Julian Lee on tenor saxophone, Miles Berry on tenor saxophone, Connor Stewart on alto saxophone, and New Orleans trumpet legend Leroy Jones, who appears on the Jones-dedicated tribute "Blues for Leroy." The album is entirely composed of Clement's own original material, all ten tracks written specifically to serve as vehicles for spontaneous improvisation.
As High Res Audio describes it, the album "captures a wide range of moods — sometimes swinging hard, sometimes deep in the pocket, sometimes smooth, sultry, or quietly sensual, much like a night in his native New Orleans, where the music shifts with the room and the energy in the air." The compositions are rooted in the bebop and soul jazz organ trio tradition while reaching outward toward the Great American Songbook and a wide range of other genre influences, all filtered through Clement's warm, funky guitar voice. Track titles like "Access Granted," "Chad Bop," "Don't Be Sus," "Instadaddy," and "Surreal McCoy" reflect a playful sensibility and contemporary wit, while the music itself is rooted in classic jazz values of swing, interaction, and blues feeling. At just under 53 minutes, Polka Dots and Ray Bans makes a strong case for Clement as one of the more engaging voices in the current generation of jazz guitarists working in the New Orleans organ groove tradition.
Polka Dots And Ray Bans
Mike Clement
Polka Dots and Ray Bans is the third studio album by guitarist Mike Clement, released on April 24, 2026, via Cellar Live (Cellar Music Group). Originally from the west coast of Canada, Clement has established himself as an in-demand performer and sideman on the New Orleans scene since relocating there, and this album was recorded at Marigny Studios on May 19, 2025, engineered by Rick Nelson, mixed by Chris Butcher, and mastered by David Darlington, with executive production by Cory Weeds of Cellar Music. The core ensemble is an organ trio — Clement on guitar, Tris Duncan on Hammond B3 organ, and Gerald Watkins Jr. on drums — augmented on select tracks by a series of guest horn players: Julian Lee on tenor saxophone, Miles Berry on tenor saxophone, Connor Stewart on alto saxophone, and New Orleans trumpet legend Leroy Jones, who appears on the Jones-dedicated tribute "Blues for Leroy." The album is entirely composed of Clement's own original material, all ten tracks written specifically to serve as vehicles for spontaneous improvisation.
As High Res Audio describes it, the album "captures a wide range of moods — sometimes swinging hard, sometimes deep in the pocket, sometimes smooth, sultry, or quietly sensual, much like a night in his native New Orleans, where the music shifts with the room and the energy in the air." The compositions are rooted in the bebop and soul jazz organ trio tradition while reaching outward toward the Great American Songbook and a wide range of other genre influences, all filtered through Clement's warm, funky guitar voice. Track titles like "Access Granted," "Chad Bop," "Don't Be Sus," "Instadaddy," and "Surreal McCoy" reflect a playful sensibility and contemporary wit, while the music itself is rooted in classic jazz values of swing, interaction, and blues feeling. At just under 53 minutes, Polka Dots and Ray Bans makes a strong case for Clement as one of the more engaging voices in the current generation of jazz guitarists working in the New Orleans organ groove tradition.