Joe Longardner
Joe Longardner
Originally from Indianapolis, Indiana USA, Joe first picked up the saxophone at age 9 and by age 12, had already taken a strong liking to Jazz. He became a regular at the local jam sessions and by age 15 was playing a few local shows a month with various big bands and combos. He was even awarded First Tenor Saxophone in the Indiana All State Jazz Band during high school. Joe decided to attend Butler University and The University of South Florida to continue his musical education and eventually graduated with a Bachelors of Music and Jazz, and a Master of Music in Jazz Performance respectively. During his undergraduate degree, Joe was named one of Indiana's outstanding college Jazz musician by the Indiana Jazz Foundation. He also taught Jazz Band and Combo at Avon High School, for one year during his time at Butler. During his masters degree, he taught three undergraduate music classes each semester which ranged from Jazz Theory, Jazz Improvisation, Small Group Combos, Big Band. Joe also lived in Madrid, Spain where he studied composition at the Escuela de Música Creativa and became an active member of the Madrid music scene. During this time, Joe also worked regularly for Carnival Cruise Lines, first in the show bands, and later as Musical Director. In 2013 Joe started living in Guangzhou, China. He became a freelance musician and worked and performed in many settings all around China and Asia.