Joe has been performing for as long as he can remember. He was fortunate to have been born into a very musical family. Joe started as a featured soloist in a junior symphony and lead trumpet for his junior high school swing band. This led him to high school musical honors and student director of his college jazz ensemble. He has been the leader of three gig bands in Pittsburgh: Synergy, Windjammer and Uptime, and toured with Ernie Jones and Tapestry in the early 1980s. Joe currently performs in Atlanta with the Metro Jazz Club swing band, Shades of Gray rock band, and has played trumpet for the Gwinnett Community Band for twenty years. His father was his earliest influence, along with teacher Clyde Bellan. His favorites are Doc Severinsen, Al Hirt, Chuck Mangione, Maynard Ferguson, Miles Davis, Herb Alpert, Bill Chase, Dizzy Gillespie, Lew Soloff, Lee Loughnane, and most recently Rick Braun, Chris Botti and Joe Gransden.
