Joe Licari

Who is Joe Licari?

Joe Licari is an American jazz clarinetist.

Known as an especially “hot” player with an exuberant and always emotive attack, Licari is considered, by critics and peers alike, to be in the front rank of contemporary “classic” jazz musicians.

He is also among the most immediately recognizable. The renowned Bob Wilber, with whom Licari studied for nearly a year, said of him: “You hear the influence of Benny Goodman in his playing…also the Chicago players Frank Teschemacher and Pee Wee Russell, plus the New Orleans clarinetists Johnny Dodds, Sidney Bechet and Jimmie Noone. He has used some of their ideas and rejected others to come up with his own style. To achieve [your own] identity is the goal of all serious [jazz] players. When you hear [Licari’s] clarinet you know it’s him.”

In a 60-year career Licari has worked alongside such luminaries as Roy Eldridge, "Wild" Bill Davison, Conrad Janis, Big Chief Russell Moore, Connie Kay, Bob Haggart, Vic Dickenson, Pee Wee Erwin and Doc Cheatham, and with the vocalist Julie Wilson.