Johnny Elliott

Johnny Elliott is a multi-genre pianist and teacher who is equally comfortable (and capable) accompanying Mozart arias as he is performing Elton John hits. Having studied with Brian Moll and Fred Haas — themselves former students of Martin Katz and Oscar Peterson, respectively —, Johnny values the versatility he has developed from a unique combination of classical and jazz lineages. He believes strongly that gifts and kindnesses are meant to be propagated from person to person, and that the gifts and kindnesses he has received from his music teachers are of incalculable value. Thus, as a teacher, he finds great purpose in sharing knowledge, joy, and tools for personal expression with the people around him, especially those of the next generation.

Johnny’s performance highlights include arranging and performing a synthesizer-reduction of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album, debuting an original jazz tune at the historic Wally’s Jazz Café in Boston, and leading the classically-oriented recital “Four Queer Centuries.” This May, he will perform his most ambitious recital yet “My Family Drum,” which draws on his many educational lineages while highlighting recent inspirations from the music of Native American composers.