John M Shifflett (March 22, 1953 – April 27, 2017) was an American jazz musician, player of the double bass, and an arranger, composer, and educator.

His last teaching job was at San Jose State University.

[1] Shifflett was born in Dubuque, Iowa,[2] attended high school at Dubuque where he played trombone and began playing bass (see at Sing Out Dubuque, John Shifflett playing his own composition on bass, January 8th 1971), and graduated in 1976 with a BS degree from Iowa State University.

[3] While at the University of Iowa, where he was working on a master's degree, Shifflett was its big band and jazz combo bass player, appearing at festivals such as the Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festivals in April 1979[4] and March 1980.

[2] Shifflett played in several notable acts, including[6] Frankie Avalon, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the American Musical Theatre of San Jose, Dinah Shore, Mel Torme, Jerry Lewis, Dionne Warwick and the Smothers Brothers.