Daily Dose Of Jazz…

John Axson Ellis was born on April 13, 1974 in North Carolina and learned clarinet and piano as a child. During the Nineties in New Orleans, Louisiana he studied with Ellis Marsalis and performed with Brian Blade and Nicholas Payton.

Independently releasing his debut album Language of Love in 1996, he went on to receive a music degree from the New School in New York City and won second place in the 2002 Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz International Saxophone Competition. John traveled to Africa as a cultural ambassador for the United States Information Agency.

With playwright Andy Bragen, Ellis composed the theatrical works Dreamscapes, The Ice Siren, and Mobro. An album version of The Ice Siren with Gretchen Parlato on vocals was released in 2020.

Ellis has performed with the group Doublewide with Jason Marsalis, The Holmes Brothers, John Patitucci, and Miguel Zenón. He has recorded thirty-seven as a sideman with Charlie Hunter, Anne Mette Iversen, Kat Edmonson, Kendrick Scott, Ben Sidran, Lonnie Smith, Darcy James Argue, Will Bernard, Laila Biali, Erin Bode, Sean Costello, Caramelos de Cianuro, Gilfema, Robert Glasper, Jon Gordon, Norah Jones, Kathy Kosins, Michael Leonhart, Mike Moreno, Igor Lumpert, Eric Revis, Robert Sadin, Kate Schutt, Leo Sidran, Edward Simon, Sting, and Helen Sung.

Tenor saxophonist John Ellis, who recorded nine albums as a leader or co-leader, continues to perform, record and tour.

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