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 to work with Ellis Marsalis's quartet to promote the album 'Whistle Stop,' and was gigging around town. Then he had a unique opportunity. John started to become an international boy. He was asked to be in the house band of a jazz club in Singapore, and lived there for three months, performing with Vanessa Rubin, Ernie Watts, and Terumasa Hino. He traveled and played in Indonesia, performing with Hino at the Jakarta Jazz Festival.

Soon after returning to New Orleans, he began to travel to Germany with Walter Payton, legendary New Orleans bass player and father of trumpeter, Nicholas Payton. They made seven trips in one year. Ellis was then chosen to be in one of seven duos to perform in the inaugural year of the Jazz Ambassadors program, sponsored by the USIA Program and the Kennedy Center. He traveled Africa as a cultural ambassador to South Africa, Namibia, Swaziland, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, and Kenya. Ellis returned to New Orleans in culture shock to find that he'd been chosen as one of thirteen semi-finalists in the 1996 Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition. The competition was held in the Smithsonian, and the rhythm section included Christian McBride, Kenny Barron, and Lewis Nash. The panel of judges included Wayne Shorter, Jackie McLean, Jimmy Heath, Joe Lovano, and Joshua Redman.

Soon after the competition, Ellis put out his debut CD, 'The Language of Love.' Bolstered by his success, John decided to try his luck in New York City. The chaos of New York, and a broken arm, inspired John to return to school. He finished up his studies at The New School for Social Research / Mannes Jazz between 1997 and 1999. He studied there with Joe Chambers, Reggie Workman, and George Garzone, among many others. While completing his studies, John continued to freelance and record, working on his own music. Soon after graduation, he was invited to Portugal as a featured soloist in an Duke Ellington tribute concert featuring Mark Turner and Perico Sambeat. He also performed the classic Gil Evans / Miles Davis arrangements of Sketches of Spain and 'Porgy and Bess' with Tim Hagans, Tom Harrell, Ira Coleman, Troy Davis, and Cyro Battista.

The BFA came in handy right away as he was invited back to New Orleans to teach at Loyola University for one year. New Orleans was really friendly, and welcomed John back. He became a working member of Jason Marsalis' quintet, and the band of Roland Guerin. He freelanced with Steve Masakowski, Phillip Manuel, Peter Martin, and the John Mahoney big band. When the school year ended John promptly headed back to New York. Currently John is freelancing and playing with Blue Note recording artist Charlie Hunter.

His 2002 CD on Fresh Sound New Talent, 'Roots, Branches, and Leaves,' features Aaron Goldberg, Jason Marsalis, Roland Guerin, and guest as Nicholas Payton, and singer Bilal Oliver. Following this set, Ellis continued to release his own wide-ranging albums, including 2006's 'By a Thread.' In 2008, he released his first album with his Double-Wide ensemble, 'Dance Like There's No Tomorrow.' A second Double-Wide release, 'Puppet Mischief,' arrived in 2010. A quintet album, 'It's Like You,' followed two years later, after which Ellis returned with Double-Wide for 'Charm,' released on his own Parade Light Records.

Along with his solo work, Ellis has regularly collaborated with playwright Andy Bragen on a number of theatrical projects. The duo's first work, 'Dreamscapes,' combined music and poetry and premiered at The Jazz Gallery in December 2007. Their second work, 'The Ice Siren,' an hour-long chamber "jazz opera," premiered in May 2009. In 2011, they premiered a second work, the environmentally concerned 'Mobro,' which found them drawing upon the infamous 1987 Mobro trash barge controversy. It was released on album in 2014. In 2020, Ellis and Bragen released a recorded version of 'The Ice Siren,' featuring vocals by Miles Griffith and Gretchen Parlato.