Joe McQueen
Encyclopedia
Joe McQueen is a professional jazz
saxophone
musician.
, Oklahoma
. He played tuba
and then saxophone
in the Ardmore High School band. He was also on the football
squad.
McQueen began playing professional jazz at the age of sixteen. He was introduced to the saxophone a few years earlier by his cousin, Herschel Evans
, who played in Count Basie
's band in the mid-1930s.
In 1945, McQueen and his wife, Thelma, traveled to Ogden, Utah
. He was at the time in a jazz band that dissolved when its leader gambled away the troupe's earnings en route from Las Vegas
. McQueen reformed the band and stayed in Ogden.
Ogden, Utah, in the near post-WWII era was a hot spot for jazz music, as it was a major stop on the railroad route west to San Francisco, California from Kansas City and beyond. The city was mentioned in the beatnik
writings of Jack Kerouac
, and was the hometown of trumpeter Red Nichols
.
During his life, McQueen has performed in Ogden with jazz luminaries such as Charlie Parker
, Chet Baker
(a fellow Oklahoman), Paul Gonsalves
, Lester Young
, Count Basie
, Duke Ellington
, Dizzy Gillespie
, and others.
McQueen has toured as a musician in the Rocky Mountain West. He played in 1962 in Idaho Falls, Idaho
with Hoagy Carmichael
.
During his early years in Ogden, McQueen worked and played at the Porters and Waiters Club in Ogden. This was one of the few venues open to black Americans at the time. McQueen was the first African-American in Utah to play at previously white-only establishments and to have a mixed-race band.
McQueen has worked as a truck mechanic and automotive technology instructor at Weber State University
. As of 2005, he works as a full-time volunteer elder care worker; in this capacity he assists infirm senior citizens.
In 2002, the Governor of Utah established April 18 as an official "Joe McQueen Day" for the State of Utah.
McQueen continues to perform live in clubs in Ogden and record at the age of 90.
McQueen was recently the subject of a documentary film: "King of O-Town." He was also featured in a July, 2005 feature article by The Associated Press.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
musician.
Biography
He was raised in ArdmoreArdmore, Oklahoma
Ardmore is a business, cultural and tourism city in and the county seat of Carter County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 24,283, while a 2007 estimate has the Ardmore micropolitan statistical area totaling 56,694 residents...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. He played tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
and then saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
in the Ardmore High School band. He was also on the football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
squad.
McQueen began playing professional jazz at the age of sixteen. He was introduced to the saxophone a few years earlier by his cousin, Herschel Evans
Herschel Evans
Herschel "Tex" Evans , was a tenor saxophonist who worked in the Count Basie Orchestra. He had also worked with Lionel Hampton and Buck Clayton...
, who played in Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
's band in the mid-1930s.
In 1945, McQueen and his wife, Thelma, traveled to Ogden, Utah
Ogden, Utah
Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a...
. He was at the time in a jazz band that dissolved when its leader gambled away the troupe's earnings en route from Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. McQueen reformed the band and stayed in Ogden.
Ogden, Utah, in the near post-WWII era was a hot spot for jazz music, as it was a major stop on the railroad route west to San Francisco, California from Kansas City and beyond. The city was mentioned in the beatnik
Beatnik
Beatnik was a media stereotype of the 1950s and early 1960s that displayed the more superficial aspects of the Beat Generation literary movement of the 1950s and violent film images, along with a cartoonish depiction of the real-life people and the spiritual quest in Jack Kerouac's autobiographical...
writings of Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
, and was the hometown of trumpeter Red Nichols
Red Nichols
Ernest Loring "Red" Nichols was an American jazz cornettist, composer, and jazz bandleader.Over his long career, Nichols recorded in a wide variety of musical styles, and critic Steve Leggett describes him as "an expert cornet player, a solid improviser, and apparently a workaholic, since he is...
.
During his life, McQueen has performed in Ogden with jazz luminaries such as Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
, Chet Baker
Chet Baker
Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker, Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and singer.Though his music earned him a large following , Baker's popularity was due in part to his "matinee idol-beauty" and "well-publicized drug habit."He died in 1988 in Amsterdam, the...
(a fellow Oklahoman), Paul Gonsalves
Paul Gonsalves
Paul Gonsalves, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist best known for his association with Duke Ellington. At the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, Gonsalves played a 27-chorus solo in the middle of Ellington's "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue"...
, Lester Young
Lester Young
Lester Willis Young , nicknamed "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He also played trumpet, violin, and drums....
, Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
, Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
, and others.
McQueen has toured as a musician in the Rocky Mountain West. He played in 1962 in Idaho Falls, Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
with Hoagy Carmichael
Hoagy Carmichael
Howard Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...
.
During his early years in Ogden, McQueen worked and played at the Porters and Waiters Club in Ogden. This was one of the few venues open to black Americans at the time. McQueen was the first African-American in Utah to play at previously white-only establishments and to have a mixed-race band.
McQueen has worked as a truck mechanic and automotive technology instructor at Weber State University
Weber State University
Weber State University is a public university located in the city of Ogden in Weber County, Utah, USA. It was founded in 1889 and is a coeducational, publicly supported university offering professional, liberal arts and technical certificates, as well as associate, bachelor's and master's degrees...
. As of 2005, he works as a full-time volunteer elder care worker; in this capacity he assists infirm senior citizens.
In 2002, the Governor of Utah established April 18 as an official "Joe McQueen Day" for the State of Utah.
McQueen continues to perform live in clubs in Ogden and record at the age of 90.
McQueen was recently the subject of a documentary film: "King of O-Town." He was also featured in a July, 2005 feature article by The Associated Press.