John Neely, born Chicago, January 29, 1930; died October 8, 1994 in Richton Park, Illinois, was a jazz tenor saxophonist and arranger.

A member of King Fleming

King Fleming

Walter "King" Fleming is an American jazz pianist and bandleader.A classmate of Sonny Cohn, after playing trombone in the McKinley High School band, Fleming went on to study at the Midwest College of Music. He had already led several informal bands before King Fleming and His Swing Band first...

's Quintette (with Russell Williams and Lorez Alexandria

Lorez Alexandria

Lorez Alexandria was an American jazz and gospel singer....

) which recorded for the Chicago-based Blue Lake

Blue Lake Records

Blue Lake was a Chicago-based record label founded in 1954 by disc jockey Al Benson. It specialized in blues, doo-wop, jazz, and gospel. A subsidiary of Benson's Parrot operation, it lasted until mid-1956...

 label in early 1954, he had played with Clifford Jordan

Clifford Jordan

Clifford Laconia Jordan was a jazz saxophone player. While in Chicago, he performed with Max Roach, Sonny Stitt, and some rhythm and blues groups. He moved to New York City in 1957, after which he recorded three albums for Blue Note. He also recorded with Horace Silver, J.J. Johnson, Kenny...

 in 1949.

In 1960, Neely recorded with pianist Earl Washington

Earl Washington (musician)

Earl "The Ghost" Washington was a jazz pianist.-Early life:Washington grew up with his brothers and sisters, in the small community of Morgan Park, on Chicago’s far southwest side. He graduated from Morgan Park High School, as did his siblings...

 for the Formal label in a band which included Walter Perkins on drums.

That same year, Neely went on to join the Lionel Hampton

Lionel Hampton

Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...

 band. Down Beat

Down Beat

Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...

(February 2, 1961) wrote: "John Neely, 30 year old Chicagoan, is being hailed by his fellows as 'one of the baddest acts in the country and the next BIG man on tenor."