About John Petrucelli

Dr. John Petrucelli is an award-winning saxophonist, composer, scholar, educator, and founder of Petrucelli Official, an artist-owned instrument brand and creative studio. Described by All About Jazz as “a musician with a burning desire to explore,” Petrucelli’s work brings together performance, composition, research, instrument design, and independent creative production.

Petrucelli has performed with Victor Lewis, Terence Blanchard, Geri Allen, Billy Hart, Sullivan Fortner, Delfeayo Marsalis, Geoffrey Keezer, Carl Allen, The Temptations, and Little Anthony & The Imperials. As a bandleader, he has released three critically recognized albums: The Way (2015), Mischievous Minx (2017), and Presence (2018). In 2026, he will release two forthcoming live recordings: The Endurance of Optimism, a trio album featuring Chris Kaukali and Jacob Porter, recorded live at Drift Lounge in Salt Lake City in October 2025, and Garden of the Angels, a quartet album featuring Peter Park, Raul Reyes, and Gusten Rudolph, recorded live at Clement’s Place in Newark in 2018.

Through Petrucelli Official, he develops the Mark ONE line of soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones while creating music, educational content, artist stories, and behind-the-scenes work around sound and instrument design. His books through Score Muse Publishing Company include studies of Warne Marsh, Charlie Rouse, and George Coleman.

Petrucelli was the inaugural James R. ’58 and Susan Neumann Postdoctoral Fellow at Oberlin College & Conservatory and has taught at Rutgers University, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, Northeastern State University, and the University of Utah, where he served as Visiting Director of Jazz. He holds a PhD in Music from the University of Pittsburgh.