Raised in Nanaimo BC, John Lee is one of the most respected and acclaimed young jazz musicians nation wide. After showing great interest in music at a young age, Lee developed into a virtuoso by his late teens and by the time Lee completed his high school studies he had received a remarkable amount of recognition by prominent jazz musicians in Canada and earned an impressive collection of awards, scholarships and honors from Envision Jazz Festival, MusicFest Canada and Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. Through the recommendation of Ingrid Jensen (Maria Schneider Orchestra) and Christian Fabian (Lionel Hampton Big Band), Lee applied to the prestigious Berklee College of Music and received a full tuition and housing scholarship. Lee completed his undergraduate studies in May 2016 and received a Bachelor of Music in Performance. In addition to his academic training in Boston, Lee was mentored by world-renowned jazz educators Dave Santoro, Terri Lyne Carrington, Ralph Peterson Jr., and John Clayton.

As an artist, John Lee is known for his incredible proficiency as a multi-instrumentalist as well as his ability to connect audience to his music and live charisma. Lee has done an extensive amount of performing in cities located in North America including New York City (Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, SOMETHIN’ Jazz Club), Boston (Wally’s Jazz Café, The Beehive), Washington (Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, Hamilton Live), Toronto (The Rex), Vancouver (Cellar Jazz Club), and Victoria (Hermann's Jazz Club). Lee has performed numerous times as a sideman and leader at international jazz festivals including TD Prince Edward County Jazz Festival, DC Jazz Festival and TD Victoria and Vancouver International Jazz Festival.

John Lee has shared the stage with international jazz artists such as Cyrus Chestnut, Larry Fuller, George Colligan, Seamus Blake, Terell Stafford, Ingrid Jensen as well as prominent Canadian jazz artists and educators Christine Jensen, Brad Turner, Jodi Proznick and Phil Dwyer.