96-year-old sax player who jammed with Nat King Cole to headline free concert

(Mike DeBernardo/KSL-TV, File Photo)


3 photos
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — A local jazz legend who has been playing saxophone for more than 80 years will perform at a free concert Thursday.

Joe McQueen, 96, said he started playing in 1933 when he was 14 years old. He grew up in Ardmore, Oklahoma, and primarily played sports until his cousin introduced him to the tenor saxophone.

"He had his horn on the bed and I picked it up and was messing with it," McQueen said. "I didn't know a thing about a horn. … He showed me how to run a C major scale and I did that after a couple of times of him showing me how to place my hands on the horn. He advised me to play a horn rather than play sports. At that time, he said, 'You can't make any money playing sports, but you can playing music,' which intrigued me."

McQueen said he wanted to play the saxophone in his high school band, but the school didn't have the instrument. So he started off playing bass tuba (which he said he hated), then the clarinet, and finally was able to play the tenor saxophone.

"That's the one that I wanted to play," he said. "I heard (my cousin) play and I decided I would like to do that."

McQueen said his band teacher would take him and several other students to play gigs outside of school and he joined a small band. When he was 16, he joined a different band and went on the road with it, traveling to different shows for about four months. Eventually, he went back to Ardmore and rejoined his original band.

Related Story

In 1945, McQueen traveled to Ogden to perform in several shows but ended up staying, and he has now lived there with his wife for seven decades. McQueen continued performing and "jammed" with jazz legends such as Nat King Cole and Charlie Parker. While he worked strictly as a musician during some periods, McQueen said he had several jobs throughout his life to support his family. But through it all, he always played jazz on the side.

"I just play music because I like to play," he said. "It's just been a lifelong deal."

McQueen had the distinction of being the first black musician to play at then-"white" clubs in Ogden. To honor McQueen's contributions to local jazz music, in 2012, former Gov. Mike Leavitt declared April 18 to be Joe McQueen Day.

McQueen has released three albums, with the most recent in November 2014. Even at 96, he continues to perform several times a month at various venues in Salt Lake City and Ogden. The Joe McQueen Quartet will be headlining a free concert Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the Gallivan Center at 239 Main St. East.

The free concert is part of the Excellence in the Community Concert Series put on by the nonprofit organization as a way to engage the community in a family friendly event.

"We put on concerts featuring Utah musicians," said managing director Jeff Whitely. "Concerts are free because we want families to bring their kids and experience a wide variety of music. … We think this is our way of building Salt Lake City."

---

Correction: This story originally said Joe McQueen played the alto saxophone. He plays tenor saxophone.

Photos

Related links

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

UtahEntertainment
Faith Heaton Jolley

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast