born in Chicago and was raised in Colorado and where he later studied guitar with Johnny Smith. His father was a studio musician and his mother a blues singer. He learned guitar at a young age and was playing professionally by the time he was 16. He had formed his own Jazz group and in 1964 he was on the road. He moved to Minneapolis in 1966 and in the seventies he had helped found the jazz fusion group Natural Life who's members included saxophonist Bob Rockwell, bassist Billy Peterson, pianist Bobby Peterson and drummers Bill Berg and Eric Kamau Gravatt.
His long career included periods in the Twin Cities, where he played and recorded with Natural Life releasing an album with them titled Unnamed Land and in Nashville, where he had various roles as studio musician, producer/engineer and songwriter on hit country recordings. He was also with the Minnesota Orchestra and the as featured soloist with the Toronto Symphony.
In the period of the 1980s to the 90's, he moved to Nashville, TN, and became manager of Gibson Professional Musical Services. He held clinics with Les Paul,Howard Roberts and Elliot Easton etc. His other roles included session work, engineering, producing, arranging and songwriting. He remained in Nashville until 1998. He worked with profile artists such as Johnny Cash, playing on his Johnny Cash Is Coming To Town album, Chubby Checker, Emmylou Harris, Trisha Yearwood and Joe Diffie etc. Other artists he worked with were Earl Klugh, Vic Damone, Steve Earle, Crystal Gayle, Tennessee Ernie Ford and more. He also co wrote a song that appeared on John Anderson's triple-platinum selling album Seminole Wind.
In 1996 he received the NAIRD award for his work as an engineer on Steve Earle's Grammy-nominated album "Train A Comin'."
He died on 14 September 2005 after being seriously ill following a heart attack.
There is now a Mike Elliott scholarship award for excellence in guitar.
From in USAJazz Fusion
Mike Elliott - Diffusion - 1983
Tracks.
01. Dr Slick
02. For Janny
03. Saguaro Bend
04. Lothlorien
05. Occupational Hazard
06. The Float/The Fat/The Snake/The Wave
07. and Air for the G String
Godspeed!
