JOE MIQUELON

Music has been the central force in my life for as long as I can remember. When I saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, it was all over. Soon after that, I could easily waste an entire weekend sitting at my grandmother’s piano desperately trying to figure out songs off the radio. Eventually my folks got a piano at our house, and I started taking lessons when I was 8 or 9.

Aside from the radio, my parents had great tastes in music… My mom had Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, and Dave Brubeck records, and my dad had his collection of Baroque music.

I started playing saxophone when I got an old, beat-up, hand-me-down Alto in the mail from an older cousin after he graduated high school. I was about 11 years old, and the other kids had already been playing in band for about a year. I started taking lessons, and finally caught up with everybody by 7th grade.

I played saxophone in Concert Band and Jazz Band through junior high and high school, but very gigs until I graduated… I finally settled on going to Tulsa University on a performance scholarship, as a Theory/Composition Major. It was a great school, but the “local” R&B music scene is what really blew my mind!

I didn’t realize that Eric Clapton and Taj Mahal’s (if you don’t know who HE is, look it up!), rhythm sections and Bob Seeger’s drummer were from Tulsa until I started “making the rounds” sitting in on my horn back then. Leon Russell (another Tulsa native and personal hero) had his studio and “Shelter” recording label based there as well. I played in a horn band 6 nights a week that eventually led to playing with the Temptations, The Four Tops, and the Spinners… I also played a short while with Asleep at the Wheel as well, All through Tulsa connections.

Eventually, I was fortunate enough to land a gig with a great “Blue-Eyed” soul singer named Jim Sweney- (To this day, he’s the best boss I ever had)… Through that band, (with Jamie Oldaker from Clapton’s band on drums) I had the opportunity to start playing keyboards as well- (I still consider myself a Saxophone player “pretending” to be a piano player to this day…) Bonnie Raitt sat-in with us often, and I even played horn with her on some recording demos for Warner Brothers…

ANYWAY, we started playing a circuit through the Midwest that included the “Old” Parody Hall in Kansas City- That’s where I met Norm and Brent in the early 80’s, while they were in the “Secrets”…Tommy was playing in a band with my brother Brad… Steve was in “Steve, Bob, and Rich”- (I actually played horn with “Boystown” when they open for “Fool’s Face” while I was home for Christmas…) I also got to know Mike Bliss and Jeff Porter in those days, as they were just starting up “The Zoo”….

I left Jim Sweney and the Jumpshotz after 5 years, and moved back to KC to join the Zoo around 1984… After that, I had the honor of playing with Blue Riddim for their final two years, Little Hatch, Lee Oskar, Mike Finnigan, Albert King (!), and Boko Maru. The last seven years, I worked with the incomparable Ida McBeth …

FINALLY, I seem to have come “full circle” and found a Permanent home with The ELDERS – the greatest band in the world! I’ve been very lucky over the years, but this tops them all… And I couldn’t be happier… Thank you, and good night…