John L. Worley, Jr. is an accomplished trumpet and flugelhorn artist and leader of the band Mo-Chi Ensemble. John is also an engaging and accomplished educator who teaches with enthusiasm, humor, and insight to a wide range of ages, experience levels, and proficiencies.
John has played in many of the San Francisco Bay Area’s creative music ensembles, as well as on over 80 recordings and videos. Being adept at a multitude of styles, John has played with and backed up national and international artists in North America, Europe, Asia, and Central America such as SJZ Collective, Wayne Wallace and Rhythm and Rhyme, Rebeca Mauleon and Round Trip, Pete and Sheila Escovedo, Jon Jang and the Pan Asian Arkestra, Asian American Orchestra, Seth McFarlane with the SF Symphony, Mel Tormé, Ella Fitzgerald, Gregory Porter, Don Byron, Wayne Shorter with the Monterey Jazz Festival Chamber Orchestra, the Carla Bley and Steve Swallow Big Band, Dave Pell Octet, Boz Scaggs, Malo, Lila Downs, and many others.
John’s ensembles WorlView, Bari Bari, and the Mo-Chi Ensemble have participated in several music series and festivals including the San Jose Jazz Summerfest and Winterfest; Monterey Jazz Festival; Jazz Project in Bellingham, Washington; SF Jazz “Hotplate” and “Clock Tower” series; Stanford Jazz Festival; Kuumbwa Jazz Center; Pacifica Performances Concert Series; the “Jazz Katsu” fundraiser for tsunami aid in Japan; Yoshi’s Night Club in Oakland; San Francisco’s Intersection For The Arts; and the Sonoma Jazz Festival. John has also performed at the Chicago Jazz Festival; Verona Jazz Festival; Montreaux Jazz Festival; Zelt Musik Festival in Freiburg, Germany; Jazz at Vienne; Blue Note in Kyoto; Taichung Music Festival; Blue Note in Taipei; and other venues.
John is a Yamaha Performing Artist. He is also a member of the music faculty at Stanford University, Santa Clara University; Hope St. Music Studios in Mountain View, California; and various jazz educational programs in San Jose, California. He is a member of San Jose Jazz, BMI, American Federation of Musicians Local 6, and the International Trumpet Guild.
In 2013, John was included in David Hickman’s book, Trumpet Greats, a biography of 2,200 renowned trumpet players from the year 1600 to the present.
WorlView, John’s debut album, was released in 2003 on his label, Dancing Sumo Records. His second CD, Naivasha was released in 2015 also on Dancing Sumo Records.