EARLY MUSICAL HISTORYJoe started playing music at a very young age. His first musical memory is plunking out with one finger the melody of a popular children's show from the early 1960's called "The Happy Birthday House". He began formal music lessons on piano at age 7 with DICK MARQUIS, a local piano teacher, then studied with jazz great JOHNNY MORRIS. He concurrently began saxophone and flute study with HERK FARANDA at age 9 and continued until his early teens when he began serious and exclusive classical study on piano with concert pianist MILDRED VICTOR. During his pre-teen and teen years he performed with his father's wedding band on saxophone, flute and clarinet. He was strongly inspired to pursue a career in music by his parents and teachers and also after meeting ZOOT SIMS and STAN GETZ while he was a young kid. At age 15 he had the baritone sax chair in a local big band directed by FRANK FOSTER. Later that year he also played on his first recording session for THE COOL CATS at Minot Sound Studios, then in downtown White Plains, and he performed live with GENE BERTONCINI and also JOHN MOHEGAN.