Tuba Artist Joe "TubaJoe" Exley started very early as an instrumentalist with violin lessons at the age of two when his mother decided he needed something structured to do as he was driving her nuts.  Later at age seven came the clarinet, followed by the oboe, bassoon and sax, but it was not until the age of fifteen that Joe found his true voice - the TUBA.

Joe went through classical training, but all the while could not get rid of the powerful influence of rock, jazz, blues, and funk.  Joe stuck to his guns and completed conventional music schooling, first at the University of Northern Colorado, then off to the "Tuba-Mecca" of Chicago for graduate school at Northwestern University as well as to seek out bigger and brighter things in the big city. It was there in Chicago where Joe became a disciple of urban life.

While still in school, 'shedding' a steady diet of orchestral excerpts, sonatas, and concerti, Joe became in demand as a freelance player in orchestras and chamber groups. ...but not able to deny his roots of popular music and jazz, Joe ended up playing on TV themes, rock albums, and touring with dance and jazz bands. While not abandoning conventional tuba roles, Joe would gravitate to applications more creative and less traditional.

Now based in New York City, Joe is considered one of the busiest tuba players around. Joe performs constantly, appearing thousands of times with literally hundreds of ensembles and is a part of many creative scenes, performing regularly alongside notables in jazz, avant-garde, rock, pop, commercial and classical music.

Joe has been heard on TV, radio, movie scores, and at major music festivals. Some of Joe's credits include features on Bravo! TV, CBS TV news themes, and NPR. Also included are appearances with notables such as Howard Johnson’s all-star tuba sextet “Gravity!”, T.S. Monk’s “Monk on Monk” band, the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, drummer Bernard “Pretty” Purdie, the New Orleans Klezmer Allstars, and with many other ensembles across the country in literally every genre and configuration imaginable. Joe has been recognized for his composition, solo improvisation, bandleading, arranging, and production, including commissions from the Meet the Composer Foundation and others. Always involved with a myriad of intriguing projects, Joe can be seen often with burgeoning bands such as Gato Loco, the Ja Ja Ja's, and as a solo artist. Joe is also an award-winning brass teacher, with former students seeded in top conservatories and going on to become accomplished professional performers.

For a more detailed history, see the who/where list and the calendar.

        -Susan Fenzl / Lorraine Tucci

here seen featured on Bravo! TV
(photo courtesy of Idiot Box Productions)

The who/where list 

A more academic-style bio