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Jon-Erik Kellso

Jon-Erik Kellso

Trumpet

Trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso moved from Detroit, Michigan to New York City in 1989 to join Vince Giordano's Nighthawks, and has since enjoyed performing and recording with many greats, including Ralph Sutton, Dan Barrett, Milt Hinton, Bob Haggart, Dick Hyman, Catherine Russell, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Kat Edmonson, Elvis Costello, Linda Ronstadt, Leon Redbone, Wycliffe Gordon, Bob Wilbur, and Kenny Davern.  

Recent engagements include a week in Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola with Wynton Marsalis celebrating Louis Armstrong's Hot 5s and 7s; leading The EarRegulars at the Detroit Jazz Fest, Moab Music Fest, and the Bohém Ragtime and Jazz Fest in Hungary; and jazz festivals and concerts in New Orleans and all over the world. 

At home in New York City Kellso has been leading The EarRegulars at the Ear Inn on Sunday nights since 2007. On Mondays Jon plays with Giordano's Nighthawks at Birdland. Jon can also be seen performing at all the great NYC venues, including Dizzy's, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Mezzrow. 

Jon-Erik can be heard on several television and movie soundtracks, including “Ghost World,” "The Aviator," "Mildred Pierce," and "Bessie" with Vince Giordano's Nighthawks. He can also be heard and seen in "Revolutionary Road,"  "Boardwalk Empire," for which the Nighthawks won a Grammy, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” and Martin Scorsese’s recently released "Killers of the Flower Moon."

Jon is on well over a hundred recordings, including several as a leader. The latest, “Jon-Erik Kellso and the EarRegulars: Live at the Ear Inn” was recently released on Arbors Records in August, 2023.

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