John Ellis

John Ellis composed music for WNYC's Dart Award-winning story, "Living 9/11."

John Ellis was born and raised in the rural “tobacco country” of North Carolina, now living in New York, John Ellis has brought a body of rich Southern folkloric material into his writing, leavening it with a finely wrought jazz sensibility.  This is apparent on his recordings “Roots, Branches and Leaves”, “One Foot In The Swamp”, “By A Thread”, and most recently, the sousaphone driven “Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow” and “Puppet Mischief”.  John has spent significant time in the musical cauldron of New Orleans.  He has studied and performed with Ellis Marsalis, toured extensively in Singapore and other Far Eastern ports of call and worked as a member of bands led by Mos Def, John Patitucci, Darcy James Argue, Jason Marsalis, Todd Sickafoose, Mike Moreno, Sean Smith, Charlie Hunter, Alan Ferber, Bilal Oliver, and more. He co-produced the music for the popular children’s book series, “Baby Loves Jazz”, and he has produced three long-form narrative collaborations with playwright Andy Bragen: “Dreamscapes”, “The Ice Siren”, and “Mobro”.  He took second place in the 2002 Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition.