Joe Aaron

Joe Aaron (clarinetist and saxophonist) was born to Russian immigrant parents in Milwaukee on September 7, 1919. In his youth, his family lived on Tenth Street and later on Eighth Street, just south of North Avenue, in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood that became Bronzeville. His father was a trumpeter and bandleader, and his brother Alvin (known as Abe), almost 10 years his senior, became a successful saxophonist who worked with Les Brown and His Band of Renown for many years before passing away in 1970.

Joe mastered the clarinet by age fourteen and, in the early 1930s, joined the Aaron family band. The family played Jewish music throughout the community at weddings, bar and bat mitzvah celebrations, and other events. One of his early professional gigs included playing in the pit at the Riverside Theater as a sub for his brother Abe, who had gone on the road.

In the 1940s, Joe toured with Clyde McCoy and His Orchestra, and in the 1960s, he worked with the WTMJ television orchestra when the station employed 35 full-time musicians. After three years of U.S. Army service during World War II, Joe became a music teacher at Juneau High School. After about seven years, he switched to teaching social studies and math for about the next 30. When asked why he changed subjects, Joe would say with his signature humor, “Because when the kids make a mistake in math, you don’t hear it!”

Joe continued to perform jazz and teach music throughout his life, influencing several generations of musicians. Joe passed away on June 7, 2013 at the age of 93.