John Lewis Bartee was born on November 15, 1912, in Woodland, Georgia. As the eldest son of James Maxey Bartee and Nell Vashti Mathews, he pursued music studies in Chicago and New York, leading to a distinguished career as an arranger and composer. Bartee worked with prominent figures in the music industry, such as Artie Shaw, Cab Calloway, Machito, Lucky Millinder, and Mario Bauza. He played a crucial role in the development of the Cuban bop or 'Cu-Bop' sound in 1940s New York City, collaborating closely with Bauza to integrate Latin music with American orchestral standards.

Bartee's notable works include the arrangement of "No Noise" recorded by Machito in 1948, featuring Charlie Parker, and an arrangement for the "Charlie Parker with Strings" studio session. Although his arrangement of "Love Walked In" was never recorded by Parker, Bartee's other works, such as "Mucho de Nada" and "Orinoco," were celebrated for their intricate rhythms and dynamic orchestrations. In the early 1960s, he played saxophone with Raymond Scott and appeared on the Bell Telephone Hour TV show "Designs in Music" in 1961. John Bartee passed away on December 17, 2001, and was laid to rest in Gallup, New Mexico.