Obituary of Jordon Ellis

Jordon Cousteau Ellis, age 36, passed away on February 28, 2023. Musician extraordinaire, percussionist, and sound engineer, Jordon was a proud father to 9-year-old Edison, whom he loved with all his heart. He was a kind, warm, and funny friend to all in his beloved Frankfort community and around the world. Jordon graduated from Western Hills High School and was in All-State Band for all 4 years of high school. He then graduated from Nashville, Tennessee's School of Audio Engineering, where he was also employed as a teacher. Jordon traveled the world as a working musician, performing with many notable musicians. He traveled as far as India with his foremost musical collaborator, Ben Sollee. With Sollee, he performed on 5 studio records, 1 live record, and 3 EPs; appeared on 4 film scores; presented a TEDx Talk; performed an NPR Tiny Desk Concert; and recorded and mixed 3 feature films, including the soon to be released Maggie Moore(s) featuring Jon Hamm and Tina Fey. He performed as the opening act for renowned musicians like Brandi Carlisle, The Wood Brothers, Brett Dennen, and My Morning Jacket; and he played hundreds of shows, including appearances at Bonaroo, Newport Folk Festival, Calgary Folk Festival, SXSW, Master Musicians Festival, and many more. For some of Jordon's tours with Sollee, the two traveled by bicycle, and Jordon logged over 4,000 miles hauling his drums on a trailer behind his bike. Additionally, Jordon was an integral and invaluable part of the following bands: Stirfry Musette, Jeri & Nat, Bywater, Atomic Sandbox Theory, The Original G’s-Us, Bach Bawk Big Cock, The Native Invaders, Mingoze Riff, Alana Fugate, Tommy Womack, Matt Del Rossi, Rhoadie, Geron Hoy, Pathos, Brian Blade, Scott T. Smith, Margo Valiante, Quantum Mechanics, Lonnie Holley, and many more. He recorded and mixed many dozens of records for these bands and countless others. Those who worked with him attested to his creativity and genius, as well as his ability, both as a percussionist and an audio engineer, to make all of the other musicians sound better. Jordon volunteered to teach music recording through the Heart Beats program for at-risk youth at the Kings Center in Frankfort. He also volunteered as a sound technician at the Grand Theatre, the Kentucky Coffeetree Cafe, and other central Kentucky venues. Additionally, he volunteered for Commonwealth Gardens and other local organizations. He worked for Dependable Mowing, and he was a caregiver for his parents when they faced health challenges. He was also an award-winning amateur chef with a talent for creating culinary masterpieces without a recipe. He leaves behind his son Edison Ellis Gale, his father Jeff Ellis (Jume), his brother Jaret Ellis (Lindsay), his niece Willow and nephew Kaizen, and his cousin Matthew Trimble. Preceding him in death was his mother Rosemary Trimble Ellis. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to pay for Jordon’s end-of-life expenses and to support his son’s education at www.gofundme.com/f/jordon-ellis. Although it won't sound as good without him, a musical celebration of life is being planned for the summer of 2023.