John Gilmore (28 September or 29 October 1931 in Summit, Mississippi-19 August or 20 August 1995 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States) was an American jazz tenor saxophone player best-known for his long tenure as a member of Sun Ra's Arkestra. Aside from his primary instrument of tenor sax, Gilmore occasionally played bass clarinet and percussion. Gilmore grew up in Chicago and played clarinet from the age of 14. He took up the tenor saxophone while serving in the United States Air Force from 1948-1952