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Master pianist Joe Baque (b. March 1, 1922) started learning piano at age 6 and played his first gig in a bar during the Great Depression at age 11 for the grand sum of $5.00, which he said could feed a family of five for a week in those days. At 91 years of age, Joe continues to play three to five gigs per week throughout Western Washington and down into Portland, OR.

Relocating from his family home to Greenwich Village, Joe played with a veritable "Who's Who" of luminaries from the annuls of jazz history; Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Zoot Sims, Lena Horne, the list is seemingly endless. Baque gigged regularly as a jazz pianist in small 52nd Street clubs during the heyday of jazz. He turned down a job touring with the George Shearing Orchestra due to the fact that he made more money staying in New York City. He was also the pianist for the NBC Orchestra for twenty-five years, in addition to being a Music Director for the Holland American Cruise Lines upon whose ships he sailed around the world four times. Joe sums up his musical past as having done "studio work with jazz greats that are far too numerous to mention" and prefers not to talk about it, concentrating instead of the present day gigs he continues to play.

Possessing a vast musical knowledge and deft touch in keyboard styles - from classical to jazz, show tunes to Latin, blues to rock and roll - Joe plays both piano and vibraphone. Venues in which he has performed include Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, The Roxy in New York, cabarets, national television programs, and clubs throughout the U.S. and around the world. After relocating to Washington State, Joe quickly became a well-loved local musician within the Pacific Northwest jazz scene. His life-long love affaire with jazz resonates brilliantly with intricately woven rhythms and complex jazz chords. Today, Joe continues to draw large crowds of admirers wherever he performs, whether it’s with rock and roll bands, stylish jazz ensembles, in musical tributes or while accompanying talented recording artists.

"Joe Baque ... philosopher and mentor to dozens of area musicians – fledglings and professionals alike. He is the pied piper of music – attracting an unlikely audience everywhere he goes ... Playing with meticulous precision, he interprets the minutest details of a song's interior." ~Nancy Pasternack, The Olympian Newspaper ^[1]

• True Stories and Cautionary Tales - Holly Gwinn Graham (widow of Davey Graham)
• A Musical History of Jazz - Dave Knutson and the Joe Baque Quintet
• Sophisticated Heart - Raney Burson, Joe Baque and Cary Black
• All Points East - Gus Vali and His Casbah Ensemble
• Woven Harmonies - Straw Into Gold
• If the Moon Turns Green - Greta Matassa and Joe Baque
• Plays For Lovers - BeBop Revisited
• Live at Cafe Starbucks '87 - Bert Wilson
• Live at the Bellevue Jazz Festival '87 - Bert Wilson and BeBop Revisited
• Choices - LaVon Hardison
• When the Sun Comes Out - Denise Daverso
• Woven Harmonies - Nadine Sanders
• The Price is Right - Claudia Wheeler
• Joe & Me - A Jazz Collection - Laurie Maricle

Category:1922 births Category:Living people Category:American jazz pianists

• Allmusic
• Official Site
• Olympia Power and Light