Joe Lovano was born in Cleveland, OH in 1952 and began playing alto sax as a child. A prophetic early family photo is of the infant Joe cradled in his mother's arms along with a sax. His father, tenor saxophonist Tony "Big T" Lovano, schooled Joe not only in the basics but in dynamics and interpretation, and regularly exposed him to jazz artists travelling through town such as Sonny Stitt, James Moody, Dizzy Gillespie, Gene Ammons and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. While still a teenager, he immersed himself in the jam session culture of Cleveland where organ trios were common and Texas tenor throw-downs a rite of passage. In high school, he began to absorb the free jazz experiments of Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane and Jimmy Giuffre and was greatly affected by the interaction which occurred between the musicians.

Upon graduation from high school, he attended the famed Berklee School of Music in Boston where he met and began playing with such future collaborators as John Scofield, Bill Frisell and Kenny Werner. He had been searching for a way to incorporate the fire and spirituality of late-period Coltrane into more traditional settings. At Berklee he discovered modal harmony. "My training was all be-bop, and suddenly there were these open forms with deceptive resolutions. That turned me on, the combination of that sound and what I came in there with. I knew what I wanted to work on after that." In 1994, Joe was given the prestigious "Distinguished Alumni Award" from Berklee.

Joe's first professional job after Berklee was with organist Lonnie Smith, which brought him to New York for his recording debut, which was followed by a stint with Brother Jack McDuff. This segued into a three year tour with the Woody Herman Thundering Herd from 1976 to 1979, culminating in "The 40th Anniversary Concert" at Carnegie Hall, which also featured Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Flip Phillips and Al Cohn.

After leaving the Herman Herd, Joe settled in New York City. His early years were filled with jam sessions and rent gigs, but eventually he joined the Mel Lewis Orchestra for its regular Monday night concert at the Village Vanguard, playing from 1980 to 1992 and recording six albums for the Orchestra. In addition, he worked with Elvin Jones, Carla Bley, Lee Konitz, Charlie Haden and Bob Brookmeyer, among others, eventually joining modern drummer Paul Motian's band in 1981.

His first high-profile gig that brought him national attention was with guitarist John Scofield's Quartet, with whom he recorded and toured for three years. Of his playing Scofield says, "He's very sonically aware -- he thinks about the effect different instruments and different personalities will have. He was perfect for what I was doing -- his sense of swing and his tone reminded me of the older guys, in a really positive way." He gained further exposure and renown through his work in the trailblazing Paul Motian Trio, which also featured former Berklee classmate Bill Frisell.

Beginning in 1991 with his first engagement as a leader at the Vanguard, Joe has experimented with different ensembles which reflect his searching and dynamic personality. As much a composer as player, Joe is constantly seeking new ways to express his muse. His second Blue Note album, Universal Language (Blue Note 99830), features the soprano voice of Judi Silvano, whose wordless vocals mesh beautifully in both ensemble and improvised passages with Joe, as well as trumpeter Tim Hagans and pianist Kenny Werner. His next album, 1994's Tenor Legacy (Blue Note 27014) , features tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman and received wide critical acclaim, culminating in a Grammy Nomination for Best Jazz Small Group Recording.

Predictably unpredictable, Joe's Rush Hour (Blue Note 29629), released in early 1995, reflects his restless searching and desire to expand his musical palette. It features his tenor saxophone with voice, string and woodwind ensembles arranged and conducted by the legendary Gunther Schuller, in compositions by Lovano, Schuller, Charles Mingus, Ornette Coleman, Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington. As CD Review's "Disc of the Month" stated, "Music doesn't get any better than this. This disc is a wonder." Joe and Gunther subsequently collaborated on the score for a Showtime movie, "Face Down", which starred Joe Montegna.

Joe Lovano ended 1996 with Quartets: Live at the Village Vanguard (Blue Note 29125), winning "Jazz Album of the Year" in the 1996 Down Beat Readers Poll. Recorded at two separate engagements at the historic Village Vanguard in New York City, the special set features Joe with Mulgrew Miller, Christian McBride and Lewis Nash on one CD and Tom Harrell, Anthony Cox and Billy Hart on the other. Down Beat's 5 star review says simply, "The Vanguard sessions are extraordinary." 

Joe began 1997 with two Grammy nominations for the Village Vanguard recording and the release of his most eagerly anticipated Celebrating Sinatra (Blue Note 37718) with Joe's tenor sax surrounded by string quartet, woodwind quintet, voice and rhythm section in arrangements by Manny Albam. As Peter Watrous in the New York Times observed, "This is a perfectly balanced piece of work, quiet chamber jazz at its best, with Mr. Lovano's odd phrasing, with its halts and velocity, taking the music somewhere new."

Joe Lovano began 1998 with yet another Grammy nomination for Celebrating Sinatra and the release of yet another completely different recording, Flying Colors (Blue Note 56092), a duo album with the great Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba. In a four star review the Los Angeles Times said "Each piece reveals yet another perspective on the talent of two extraordinary players, clearly inspired by the setting and each other, creating some of the finest jazz in recent memory."

Blue Note Records