John Isley Contact
John Isley

Whatever the Muse Asks Wherever the Music Goes

SaxophonistMulti-woodwindEWIComposerOrchestratorArrangerStudio engineerEducator

Forty years in New York as a working musician: on stage, in the studio and now on the page. I play, compose, arrange, record and educate, and it has always been one job.

Play

Saxophone, woodwinds and EWI for sessions, stages and records. Diana Ross to They Might Be Giants, Broadway to the studio floor.

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Hear the playing

Create

Scores, arrangements and orchestrations for animation, film and artists. Director of Music at MITA-tainment.

ReelScoresDetour AheadCue libraryLicensing
See what I write

Step Into the Studio

This is where it happens: two rooms, lots of toys, and everything within reach.

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On the road

From Small Clubs to Big Stages

More from the stage
John in a red shirt leaning into a tenor saxophone under blue stage lights.Black-and-white photo of John looking down at a baritone saxophone.Diana Ross in a magenta gown on stage with the band behind her.John and his bandmates posing in front of a Towne Crier Cafe stage.John playing saxophone on a festival stage.John on saxophone beside a singer in a red shirt on a stone-walled stage.John standing in an ancient stadium in front of a Diana Ross Live banner.
Writing

Musings of a Blind Squirrel

All writing

Observations and anecdotes from forty years of working as a musician in New York City.

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My story
New York doesn’t care whether you call yourself a saxophonist, an arranger, a producer, an engineer or an educator. It asks one question: can you make the music better?
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Blind Squirrel Creative logo: a squirrel in sunglasses and headphones, walking with a white cane, under the name in blue lightning lettering.
Blind Squirrel Creative

Where It All Comes Together

From first breath, to final mix.

Performer, composer, arranger, orchestrator, producer, recording engineer, sound designer, educator—and occasionally several of those at the same time. One creative home base, from the first spark to a fully realized production.

Meet Blind Squirrel Creative
Also

Gear From the Studio

Browse all gear

Instruments and studio gear from my own shelves, 45 pieces in all. Every listing has its own page and a Make Offer form that comes straight to me.