John G. Willis is an electric & upright bassist currently based in Scottsdale, AZ. An in-demand player for both live appearances and recording sessions, John is best known for his deep groove and commitment to playing “for the song”, regardless of style. A graduate of the Berklee College of Music, John has been playing music for a living for most of his adult life, the only “interruption” being a decade-long tenure at Fender Musical Instruments where, among other things, he managed the SWR line of bass amplification for five years.

Since returning, he has been a member of AZ favorites The Shake, Flying South, The Wazoo Peach Pitters and Limbs Akimbo. Lately, he spends most of his time as part of the Herndon Brothers Band, house band at the landmark Scottsdale music institution, Handlebar J. He also frequently appears with Nate Nathan & The Mac Daddy-O’s, Maureen Kaiser's Mayhem Lane, The Willis Brothers Band (with brother S.E. Willis), Alice Tatum, Chuck Hall, Dave Ihlenfeld’s NuWorld Jazz and many other local and national acts.

In 2020, faced with the longest “gig free” period of his life courtesy of the pandemic, John decided to finally finish & record some songs he’d had for years. The results were good, but could have been better. And the ongoing work outage for musicians gave him the time to develop a passion for writing & recording that has yielded (so far) a full length album and two singles. A second album is on the way in Fall 2024, and there will surely be more to follow. (johngwillis.com)