Take Five with Pianist / Composer Joe Elefante

About Joe Elefante:

Joe has traveled 4 continents playing and conducting jazz and musical theater. Joe founded the Joe Elefante Big Band in 2001, which was the house band at Cecil's Jazz Club for three years, and was featured on ABC's Nightline and in the Wall Street Journal. He was named a Jazz Ambassador by the Kennedy Center, and has toured Eastern Europe and the Middle East as a jazz pianist for the U.S. State Department. He has also been selected to the prestigious BMI Jazz Composers Workshop in NYC and the Betty Carter: Jazz Ahead program at the Kennedy Center. After majoring in jazz saxophone and piano at New Jersey City University, Joe performed and recorded music full time for the next fifteen years before settling down to raise a family. He worked as a school teacher and part-time musician for the next decade, losing touch with his jazz roots as the years passed and responsibilities piled up. After the tragic death of his wife of 16 years to cancer in 2024, Joe realized that life is too precious and fragile to not follow his true north: writing and performing vital, original jazz music with the best artists on the scene.

Instrument:

piano

Teachers and/or influences?

I studied piano with Don Friedman, Frank Kimbrough, and Joel Weiskopf, and saxophone with Andy Fusco, Walt Weiskopf, and Ralph Lalama.

I knew I wanted to be a musician when...

My father was—is—a woodwind player, so I knew I wanted to be a saxophonist at a very young age.

Your sound and approach to music:

Hmmm... This is difficult to answer because it keeps changing. Most recently, I've been listening to, writing, and playing acoustic, small group music almost exclusively. Although I'm mostly listening to records from the past 30 years or so, I think I'd have to admit that Miles's 60s group is probably my primary influence as a composer and bandleader.

Your teaching approach:

It is falling out of fashion in many circles for students to build vocabulary through things like practicing licks and running exercises through 12 keys, but these things are important! Young musicians need to assemble a tool kit. You don't start out as Charlie Parker—you build a basic vocabulary which you can then add to, subtract from, and modify as you listen, perform, experience, and grow.

Your dream band:

I've already put it together! My dream band is the one I just recorded with for Wheel of Dharma. It includes Freddie Hendrix on trumpet, Erena Terakubo on alto, Sameer Shankar on bass, and Dave Heilman on drums. Some heroes of mine that I would love to play with at least once are Branford Marsalis, Joshua Redman, Christian McBride, James Genus, Tain, and Brian Blade.

Road story: Your best or worst experience:

One time I was at the American embassy in Belgrade, Serbia, and one of the Americans working in the embassy was from my hometown of 11,000 people in New Jersey! It was wild.

Favorite venue:

We played an outdoor concert in Bodrum, Turkey, one time. I don't remember the name of the venue, but it was pretty mind blowing.

Your favorite recording in your discography and why?

How do you pick just one? If I must, I'll pick Miles's Nefertiti. The communication among the musicians is unrivaled and borders on telepathy. There is not one unnecessary note on the whole record. The maturity it took to essentially loop the melody of the title track for 8 minutes is unlike anything ever accomplished in jazz.

The first Jazz album I bought was:

I don't remember. It was probably a Charlie Parker record.

What do you think is the most important thing you are contributing musically?

This is a great question. I think we bring a unique energy to the music. The music is deep, but above all, it is joyful. Freddie, Dave, and I have been having a blast doing this thing together for 25 years, but the addition of Erena and Sameer have really helped me take my music -and joy -to the next level.

Did you know...

My 13 year-old daughter is a professional singer, dancer, and actress.

CDs you are listening to now:

Billy Childs: The Winds of Change (Mack Avenue Records)
Ari Hoenig: Enchanted (Fresh Sounds Records)
Keith Jarrett: Bordeaux Concert (ECM Records)
Donny McCaslin: I Want More (Edition Records)
Chris Potter: Eagles Point (Edition Records)

Desert Island picks:

John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman (Impulse! Records)
Miles Davis: Nefertiti (Columbia Records)
Herbie Hancock: Speak Like a Child (Blue Note Records)
Keith Jarrett: Nude Ants (ECM Records)
Branford Marsalis Quartet: Requiem (Sony Music)

How would you describe the state of jazz today?

If you take a look at the music I'm listening to now, you'll notice they are all records released in the last couple years. Those records are a great indicator of the state of jazz today -electric, acoustic, steeped in tradition, breaking new ground, solos, small groups, large ensembles. Jazz is anything and everywhere.

What are some of the essential requirements to keep jazz alive and growing?

Clearly, we need young people to continue to make and listen to the music. I think that's happening! I just wish it were happening more.

What is in the near future?

Alongside Wheel of Dharma, I'm also preparing to release a solo piano/vocal album of jazz standards, titled #SongbookSeries. After my wife, Caryn, passed away in March, I began sharing daily piano performances of American Songbook standards on social media. The support and connection I felt inspired me to make a record, which I consider a love letter to Caryn. It was difficult to record -very emotional. But I am very thrilled with and proud of the final product, and can't wait to share it with people.

What's your greatest fear when you perform?

I want to bring authenticity to my performance. I don't ever want to force anything. The audience sees through that right away. The music should always be authentic and joyful.

What song would you like played at your funeral?

Maybe "Hang Gliding" from Maria Schneider's Allegresse record.

What is your favorite song to whistle or sing in the shower? This changes often—right now, maybe "How Little We Know" by Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer.

By Day:

I teach grade 3-8 music for a public school district in NJ.

If I weren't a jazz musician, I would be a:

Education policy analyst. I'm a dissertation away from a PhD in the field and it's always been a passion of mine.

If I could have dinner with anyone from history, who would it be and why?

Charlie Parker. He's both a fascinating conversationalist and the greatest musical genius in American history.

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