 |  Where was Joe born? Show Answer |
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| Name two universities where Joe has taught. Show Answer |
| | University of Kansas, University of Iowa,
San Francisco State University, Sacred Heart | | Hide Answer |
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| What were Joe's first vinyl, first cassette, and first CD recordings called? Show Answer |
| | Joe's first vinyl Christmas Eve at the Wurlitzer in 1964 was recorded on a theater organ in Wichita and released on the Kanwic label. His first cassette Alone Now: The Joe Utterback Songbook was produced by Jazzmuze, Inc. His first CD, released by Connoisseur Society, Inc., is called Gershwin: Porgy and Bess Jazz Suite. The cassette and the CD are recordings of Joe's piano improvisations. | | Hide Answer |
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| Where did Joe play his first professional gig? Show Answer |
| | Joe's first professional engagement at the age of seventeen was in the Golden Chance Saloon in Wichita, Kansas. | | Hide Answer |
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| Who was the first to commission Joe? What was the name of the piece? Show Answer |
| | | Pianist David Allen Wehr commissioned Joe to compose a solo concert work called Encounter in 1989. Mr. Wehr, who won the Gold Medal in the 1987 Santander International Piano Competition, Spain, has also been responsible for the following piano works: | | Solace (1990) | | Transformation (1990) | | Tuxedo Blues (1991) | | Dream-Song (1991) | | Concert Fantasy on Gershwin's Porgy and Bess (1997) |
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| What Kansas jazz artists influenced Joe's early jazz style? Show Answer |
| | Jazz pianist Ruth Searce and Native American blues singer Ginny Lou were strong influences in Joe's early years on the jazz scene. Joe often tells a colorful story about his first performance of St. Louis Blues for Ruth Searce. | | Hide Answer |
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| What is Joe's favorite hobby? Show Answer |
| |  | | Joe is strong, with muscles bulging from his hobby, weight lifting& you can hear that strength in his playing& it seems like he could fold the instrument up&and carry it home& on the more sentimental tunes, the emotion is more delicate& Sweet stuff.
- Eugene Pitts |
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| Who did the first recording of an Utterback organ work? Show Answer |
| | Vance Harper Jones performed Balm in Gilead for the 1995 Organ Historical Society Convention in Michigan on the 1900 Carl Barkhoff organ in the First Congregational Church of Ypsilanti. The Organ Historical Society released the CD set Historical Organs of Michigan and included Vance's performance of Joe's music. | | Hide Answer |
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| Who did the first recording totally devoted to Joe's piano music? Show Answer |
| | In 1998 David Allen Wehr recorded twenty-four piano pieces for a Connoisseur Society, Inc. CD called Concert Fantasy on Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. | | Hide Answer |
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| Who did the first recording totally devoted to Joe's organ music? Show Answer |
| | Dr. Andrew Shenton, organist at Princeton's Trinity Church, recorded 23 Utterback organ pieces on the wonderful Mander instrument at St. Ignatius Loyola in New York City. The CD, Utterbackanalia (with wonderful critical reviews both in the US and abroad), is currently described with sound bytes and a full download of "Little David, Play on Your Harp" on the Jazzmuze.com Recordings Page | | Hide Answer |
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| Place the following venues where Joe has performed in their historic order: | - The Mark Hopkins, San Francisco | | - The Hotel Mark, New York City | | - Playboy Clubs (Denver, St. Louis, Kansas City) | | - The Winged Foot Golf and Country Club, New York |
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| | Playboy Clubs (Denver, St. Louis, Kansas City)
The Mark Hopkins, San Francisco
The Hotel Mark, New York City
The Winged Foot Golf and Country Club, New York | | Hide Answer |
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| With what two groups did Joe tour Europe? Show Answer |
| | Joe toured Europe with Young Americans Overseas for which he was chosen after 5,000 pianists were auditioned. He also toured with The Joe Utterback Trio. | | Hide Answer |
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| Who recorded Joe's piano and organ duets? Where? Show Answer |
| | The Canadian Duo Majoya recorded all five of Joe's piano and organ duets on the marvelous instrument in Jack Singer Hall, Calgary, Canada. Their disc also has new works by two Canadian composers and is scheduled for release June 2002. Marnie Geisbrecht and Joachim Segger have performed Utterback duets on several occasions at the famous concert hall. | | Hide Answer |
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| What is Joe's favorite month of the year? Why? Show Answer |
| |  | | October& Joe's birthday is October 8. He celebrates with gusto all month long, and his friends enjoy it as much as he. |
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| What large choir does Joe conduct every Palm Sunday? Show Answer |
| |  | | Joe conducts the seventy-voice Oratorio Choir at the First Congregational Church in Stratford, Connecticut. The choir rehearses on Tuesday evenings from January until Palm Sunday in the music room of the church. The choir is composed of his regular church choir members and choristers from the community joining for the event. Each year, Joe has composed a special anthem for the choir; the anthems involve a changing variety of instruments: organ, piano, trumpets, hand bells, and even a gong.
Dr. Joe, in white tux, conducts the seventy-voice Oratorio Choir as they celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Palm Sunday choral Concerts. |
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| Where and when does Dr. Joe do his composing? Show Answer |
| |  | | Behind Dr. Joe's home stands the Douglas O'Toole Studio where Joe generally works on his compositions in the late evening and early morning, sometimes until 3 or 4 a.m. The studio contains a wonderful old Steinway upright. Since Joe's compositions are based on his improvisations, he is free to play without disturbing anyone since the studio is a distance from the house, near sheltering trees. His dogs generally keep him company during these hours and are the first to hear the new music! |
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| Where did a Fisk organ and Dr. Joe meet? Show Answer |
| |  | | Dr. Joe is seated at the console of the Fisk organ in the First Presbyterian Church of New Bern, North Carolina. The choirs of the church commissioned Joe to honor their organist Vance Harper Jones: Joe has performed piano concerts several times in New Bern. Joe has also performed many times for the United Methodist Church of Red Bank, NJ during services, concerts, and special commemorations. |
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| Name at least two influences on Joe's jazz piano improv style, people whose jazz contribution he admires and whose style his music often reflects? Show Answer |
| | Bill Evans
Oscar Peterson
Art Tatum
Erroll Garner
Sarah Vaughn
Charlie Parker | | Hide Answer |
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| Who is Joe's publisher and manager? Show Answer |
| | Bill Todt is Vice-President of Jazzmuze, Inc. which publishes all of Joe's music. He is Joe's manager and deals with concerts and commissions. You may contact Bill Todt by calling (732)747-5227 or sending an email to wmtodt@aol.com | | Hide Answer |
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