Jon Blondell is an extremely talented and diverse jazz musician living in Austin, Texas having become extraordinarily proficient on multiple instruments, namely, trombone, saxophone, French horn, upright bass and electric bass. He has performed with everyone from Willie Nelson to Sublime and countless other world class artists. His Album credits read like a music hall of fame roster. It’s doubtful a day goes by that you don’t hear Blondell’s talents on someone’s hit single or some commercial advertisement.
Blondell was born in a rural community in Iowa, and his childhood witnessed numerous moves growing up in a series of towns from the Midwest to California, settling in the Texas Lower Rio Grande Valley. After high school in Harlingen, Texas, Jon passed up a full scholarship to MIT, in order to pursue the priesthood at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. Pursuing his undergraduate studies, he began to question his degree choices and unsure of his direction, his life took a turn while at a shopping mall. “About 4:30 pm one afternoon, “I heard All the Things You Are - played by SuperSax, a Charlie Parker Tribute band - coming from the record store. This really did something to me. It really flipped a switch. The owner later gave me a promo record of trombonist Bill Watrous.”
Over the next several months that record store owner gave him several more promo copies which he took home and, having the background of marching band since he was 12, learned all the parts of those songs on trombone. Within 6 months, Jon’s path changed drastically. He continued at St. Mary's now with the help of a music scholarship. Later, he became a low brass instructor, then bass teacher and jazz program director. Blondell ventured on after St. Mary’s and came to live in Austin, Texas.
Having learned to play electric bass somewhere along the way, he became the house bass player at Antone’s Night Club where he played with Buddy Guy, Jimmy Page, U2, Carlos Santana, Jimmy Vaughan, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Kim Wilson, Pinetop Perkins, Lou Ann Barton, Marcia Ball, Charlie Sexton and all the Austin Blues family. At the same time he was breaking into the jazz scene and playing with local jazz artists as well as greats like Chet Baker, Branford Marsalis, Ellis Marsalis, Joe Henderson, Carl Fontana, Bill Watrous and others. He later crossed over into the country and rock n roll world and has had the honor of working with Willie Nelson, George Strait, Delbert McClinton, Ray Price, Asleep at the Wheel and Dale Watson.
His recording discography is equally diversified and includes not only sideman credits on many jazz, blues and country records plus scores of radio and television commercials, but perhaps the best known and most influential trombone solo in rock music since the early 70’s - the multi-platinum hit “Wrong Way” by Sublime.