# John Ellis – The gifted, versatile saxophonist, clarinetist, composer … Video

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2018/04/13/john-ellis-the-gifted-versatile-saxophonist-clarinetist-composer-video/
- Published: 2018-04-13T00:02:04+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**13.04. – Happy Birthday !!! The gifted, versatile saxophonist/clarinetist/composer
John Ellis occupies an imaginary (and extremely imaginative) space directly between
the celebratory, welcoming spirit of New Orleans and the edgy, frantic streets of
New York City. **

Both as the leader of his own eclectic projects and as an in-demand sideman for 
a mind-boggling number and variety of artists, Ellis expresses a keen intellect 
and easy virtuosity while maintaining a mischievous gleam in his eye and never letting
tongue stray far from cheek.

That combination is best showcased in Ellis’ eccentric combo Double-Wide, which 
recently released its third album, Charm, on Ellis’ own Parade Light Records. Ellis
also leads his own quintet of A-list players, whose most recent release was the 
2012 Criss Cross release It’s You I Like featuring songs by singer-songwriter Elliott
Smith and legendary kids’ TV host Mr. Rogers. An ambitious composer as well as an
agile musician, Ellis in recent years has composed three large-scale narrative pieces
commissioned by The Jazz Gallery in collaboration with playwright Andy Bragen (“
Dreamscapes”, “The Ice Siren”, and “MOBRO”).

The second place winner of the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Saxophone
Competition in 2002, Ellis has also established himself as one of New York’s premier
tenor saxophonists, working with artists as diverse as John Patitucci, Dr. Lonnie
Smith, Miguel Zenón, Darcy James Argue, Charlie Hunter, and Sting. His discography
lists more than 100 album credits as a sideman, with more than a dozen released 
in 2014 alone.

Ellis grew up in rural North Carolina and pursued his love of music to the University
of North Carolina School of the Arts and later to New Orleans, where he studied 
with jazz family patriarch Ellis Marsalis. Ellis released his debut album, The Language
of Love, in 1996 and a year later relocated to New York City. Despite the move, 
the title of his 2005 album One Foot in the Swamp captures his continuing ties to
the Bayou, which shines through in the southern-accented, gospel-tinged funk grooves
of his music. Ellis has released nine albums as a leader, three of those featuring
his urban carnival band Double-Wide.

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