John Ellis

John Ellis is a country boy. He grew up on an 18 acre farm with chickens, a pond, and water that came from a natural spring behind the house. He played different instruments in his father's church when he was younger, and finally started blowing the saxophone in his high school band. His older brother's gifts in painting led him to the North Carolina School of the Arts and John soon followed, studying oboe for one year, and then switching to saxophone. James Houlik became his teacher and one of his most important mentors there. He completed high school and one year of college and then began his adventures in jazz. He started to become a city boy.

He moved to New Orleans, wanting to feel what the birthplace was like. After a year at the University of New Orleans under the tutelage of Ellis Marsalis, Harold Battiste, and Victor Goines, he quit school to try to play more. He had begun...

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John Ellis Albums

1 record