Joe Dallas Sr.
Joe Dallas Sr., jazz trombonist and adjunct jazz faculty member at Duquesne University had a long and varied career. He performed with artists such as Tony Bennett, Vic Damone, Sammy Davis, Jr., Aretha Franklin, Lou Rawls, Neal Hefti, Frank Sinatra, Jr., and Michelle Le Grand. He performed in the world Premiere Jazz Ballet “The Great Gatsby”, conducted by Guenther Schuller; made guest appearances on “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood” and other PBS specials; is a former member of the Si Zenter Band at the Tropicana in Las Vegas; was artist in residence and jazz trombone teacher for the Clark Terry International Institute of Jazz at Westmar University in LeMars, Iowa, and was clinician and guest performer at Frostburg State College in Maryland and SUNY in Binghamton, New York, among many others. Local Pittsburgh performances include the John Wilson Big Band, the Joe Negri Quartet, Jimmy Beaumont and the Skyliners, and many jazz venues including performances for the Pittsburgh Jazz Society.
Joe was also a member of the Paradise Big Band in Key West, Florida, the Key West Pops, and he appeared frequently in shows and jazz performances in Key West although he was mostly a Pittsburgh-based jazz musician. Joe produced a jazz CD which featured himself, his son Joe Dallas Jr. and many of the best jazz performers in Pittsburgh and Key West.
Joe was born in Pittsburgh in 1939, and he started playing trombone when he was in sixth grade. Within a couple of years, he became a student of the renowned trombone teacher, Matty Shiner. He attended Morehead University in Kentucky on a full music scholarship, taught public school music and gave private lessons in Kentucky and Pittsburgh for many years while continuing to perform.