Joseph James LaBarbera (born February 22, 1948) is an American

jazz drummer Jazz drumming is the art of playing percussion (predominantly the drum kit, which includes a variety of drums and cymbals) in jazz styles ranging from 1910s-style Dixieland jazz to 1970s-era jazz fusion and 1980s-era Latin jazz. The techniques an ...

and composer. He is best known for his recordings and live performances with the trio of pianist

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...

in the final years of Evans's career. His older brothers are saxophonist

Pat LaBarbera Pat (Pascel Emmanuel) LaBarbera (born April 7, 1944) is an American-born Canadian jazz tenor, alto and soprano saxophonist, clarinetist, and flautist born in Mt. Morris, New York, most notable for his work as a soloist in Buddy Rich bands fr ...

and trumpeter

John LaBarbera John LaBarbera (born November 10, 1945) is a trumpeter and arranger who worked with the Buddy Rich Orchestra during the late 1960s. Early life LaBarbera was born in Warsaw, New York, on November 10, 1945. His home town is Mount Morris, New York ...

Career

He grew up in

Mount Morris, New York Mount Morris is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Livingston County, New York, Livingston County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 4,465 at the 2010 census. The town and village were named after Rob ...

. His first drum teacher was his father. For two years in the late 1960s he attended Berklee College of Music, then went on tour with singer

Frankie Randall Frankie Billy Randall (September 25, 1961 – December 23, 2020) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1983 to 2005. He was a three-time light welterweight world champion, having held the WBA and WBC titles between 1994 and 19 ...

. After Berklee he spent two years with the US Army band at

Fort Dix Fort Dix, the common name for the Army Support Activity (ASA) located at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, is a United States Army post. It is located south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Fort Dix is under the jurisdiction of the Air Force A ...

, New Jersey. He began his professional career playing with

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...

and the Thundering Herd. His reputation grew in the 1970s when he spent four years recording and touring with

Chuck Mangione Charles Frank Mangione ( ; born November 29, 1940) is an American flugelhorn player, voice actor, trumpeter and composer. He came to prominence as a member of Art Blakey's band in the 1960s, and later co-led the Jazz Brothers with his brother, ...

. He also worked as a sideman for

Bob Brookmeyer Robert Edward "Bob" Brookmeyer (December 19, 1929 – December 15, 2011) was an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, arranger, and composer. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public attention as a member of Ge ...

, Jim Hall,

Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, double ...

Art Pepper Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. (September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982) was an American alto saxophonist and very occasional tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. Active in West Coast jazz, Pepper came to prominence in Stan Kenton's big band. He was known ...

John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26, 1951), sometimes referred to as "Sco", is an American guitarist and composer whose music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention in the ...

Toots Thielemans Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (29 April 1922 – 22 August 2016), known professionally as Toots Thielemans, was a Belgian jazz musician. He was mostly known for his chromatic harmonica playing, as well as his guitar and whistl ...

, and

Phil Woods Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. Biography Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began ...

. In 1979 he was a member of the

trio, then spent much of the 1980s and early 1990s with

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...

. He was in a quartet with his brother Pat and in a trio with

Hein van de Geyn Hein van de Geyn (born 18 July 1956) is a jazz double bassist, composer and band leader from the Netherlands. Van de Geyn also teaches double bass and music. Early life Hein van de Geyn was born in Schijndel, Netherlands on 18 July 1956. He st ...

and John Abercrombie. He has taught at the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

and the Bud Shank Jazz Workshop.

Discography

As leader

* ''The Joe La Barbera Quintet Live'' (Jazz Compass, 2001) * ''Mark Time'' (Jazz Compass, 2003) * ''Love Locked Out'' (2003), with

Patti Wicks Patti Wicks (born Patricia Ellen Chappell; February 24, 1945 – March 7, 2014) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Career Wicks began playing the piano at the age of three and later attended the Crane School of Music at the State Universi ...

and

Keter Betts William Thomas "Keter" Betts (July 22, 1928 – August 6, 2005) was an American jazz double bassist. Early life and education Born in Port Chester, New York, he was nicknamed "Keter", a short form of the word mosquito. He graduated from Port C ...

* ''Native Land'' (Jazz Compass, 2006) * ''Silver Streams'' (Jazz Compass, 2012)

As sideman

With

* 1986 ''The Art of Excellence'' * 1987 ''Bennett/Berlin'' * 1990 ''Astoria: Portrait of the Artist'' * 1992 ''Perfectly Frank'' * 2007 ''Sings the Ultimate American Songbook Vol. 1'' With

Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as " Botch-a-Me", " Mambo Italiano", ...

* 1989 ''

Rosemary Clooney Sings Rodgers, Hart & Hammerstein ''Rosemary Clooney Sings Rodgers, Hart & Hammerstein'' is a 1990 album by Rosemary Clooney, consisting of songs composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and Oscar Hammerstein II. Track listing # "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" – ...

'' * 1992 ''

Girl Singer ''Girl Singer'' is a 1992 studio album by Rosemary Clooney. Clooney sings with a big band on the album, which is the first of her Concord Records series not to feature Scott Hamilton. The introduction to "Straighten Up and Fly Right" is from ...

'' * 1997 '' Mothers & Daughters'' * 2000 ''The Songbook Collection'' * 2001 ''Sentimental Journey: The Girl Singer and Her New Big Band'' With

Bill Cunliffe William Henry Cunliffe Jr. (born June 26, 1956), is an American jazz pianist and composer. Early life Cunliffe was born in Andover, Massachusetts. He discovered music at an early age, with particular emphasis on classical music as well as jaz ...

* 1993 ''A Paul Simon Songbook'' * 1995 ''Bill in Brazi'' * 2001 ''Live at Bernie's'' * 2002 ''Bill Cunliffe Sextet: Live at Rocco'' * 2003 ''How My Heart Sings'' With

* 1979 ''Live at the Balboa Jazz Club, Vol. 1'' * 1979 ''Live at the Balboa Jazz Club, Vol. 2'' * 1979 ''Live at the Balboa Jazz Club, Vol. 3'' * 1979 ''Live at the Balboa Jazz Club, Vol. 4'' * 1979 ''Live at the Balboa Jazz Club, Vol. 5'' * 1979 ''Live in Buenos Aires, 1979'' * 1979 ''We Will Meet Again'' * 1980 ''Letter to Evan'' * 1980 ''Turn Out the Stars'' * 1983 ''The Paris Concert: Edition 1'' * 1983 ''The Paris Concert: Edition 2'' * 1996 ''His Last Concert in Germany'' * 1996 ''The Brilliant'' * 1996 ''Turn Out the Stars: Final Village Vanguard Recordings'' * 2000 ''The Last Waltz'' * 2005 ''Live in Rome 1979'' With

* 2003 ''On the Wild Side'' (Jazz Compass) * 2005 ''Fantazm'' (Jazz Compass) * 2013 ''Caravan'' (Jazz Compass) With

* 1976 ''Pass It On'' * 1993 ''JMOG (Jazz Men on the Go)'' * 2003 ''Deep in a Dream'' * 2005 ''Crossing the Line'' With

* 1973 ''Land of Make Believe'' * 1975 ''Bellavia'' * 1975 ''Chase the Clouds Away'' With

Bud Shank Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and thro ...

* 1996 ''Plays the Music of Bill Evans'' * 1999 ''After You Jeru'' * 2000 ''Silver Storm'' * 2002 ''On the Trail'' * 2009 ''Fascinating Rhythms'' With

Kim Richmond Kim Richmond (born July 24, 1940, Champaign, Illinois) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Richmond played piano, clarinet, and saxophone when young, and made his professional debut in 1956. He studied at the University of Illinois in th ...

* 1994 ''Range'' * 1999 ''Look at the Time'' * 2001 ''Ballads'' With

Terry Trotter Terry William Trotter (born October 5, 1940) is an American jazz pianist and piano teacher living in Los Angeles. He has recorded with such artists as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Natalie Cole, Celine Dion, Larry Carlton, and many others. Tro ...

and Trotter Trio * 1993 ''It's About Time'' * 1995 ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum...In Jazz'' * 1995 ''Company...In'' * 1995 ''Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd in Jazz'' * 1996 ''The Michel Legrand Album'' * 1997 ''Sketches on Star Wars'' * 1998 ''Follies'' * 2001 ''The Fantasticks in Jazz'' With others * 1992 ''In Tribute'',

Diane Schuur Diane Joan Schuur (born December 10, 1953), nicknamed "Deedles", is an American jazz singer and pianist. As of 2015, Schuur had released 23 albums, and had extended her jazz repertoire to include essences of Latin, gospel, pop and country music ...

* 1997 " All the More",

Kenny Wheeler Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he was also active ...

* 2003 '' As Time Goes By: The Great American Songbook, Volume II'',

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

* 2003 ''

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...

'',

* 2004 ''Renee Olstead'',

Renee Olstead Renee Olstead (born June 18, 1989) is an American actress and singer. Active since childhood as an actress, she is best known for her roles on the CBS sitcom '' Still Standing'' and on the ABC Family drama ''The Secret Life of the American Teenag ...

* 2007 ''

Call Me Irresponsible "Call Me Irresponsible" is a 1962 song composed by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics written by Sammy Cahn which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1963. According to the Mel Tormé book ''The Other Side of the Rainbow with Judy Garland o ...

'',

* 2009 ''Skylark'',

* 2009 '' Crazy Love'',

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Labarbera, Joe 1948 births Living people Musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American drummers American jazz composers American jazz drummers American jazz musicians