JOE MCQUEEN DAY CONCERT TO CELEBRATE UTAH’S LEGENDARY JAZZ SAXOPHONIST
The Joe McQueen Quartet continues their annual Joe McQueen Day tradition on Tuesday, April 18 at Lighthouse Lounge in Ogden.
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The Joe McQueen Quartet. Photo courtesy of Ryan Conger
*Updated 4/17 4:41 p.m.
Ogden, UT—After a pause, since legendary jazz saxophonist Joe McQueen’s death at the age 100 in 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic, the Joe McQueen Quartet is back for their annual Joe McQueen Day celebration. The concert will begin at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 18, at Lighthouse Lounge, in Ogden, Utah—the city where McQueen lived and played for 74 years.
Utah governor Mike Levitt established April 18 as Joe McQueen Day in 2002. The current iteration of the Joe McQueen Quartet—Joe McQueen (tenor saxophone), Ryan Conger (organ), Brad Wright (guitar), Don Keipp (drums)—formed in 2009 and played a big show every year, sometimes several, over the next decade to celebrate the day with Joe while he was alive.
Conger hopes to continue the annual tradition. “I think that it’s important to keep the music and legacy of Joe McQueen alive and thriving,” he says. “Joe McQueen Day was always a day where friends of Joe and the band gathered, played music, shared stories, and celebrated Joe's legacy.”
This year, the Joe McQueen Quartet is returning to Lighthouse Lounge, where they played a monthly show the last four years of McQueen’s life.
Conger says, “Joe often said that it was his favorite gig we had. The staff and patrons of the Lighthouse Lounge were always supportive and accommodating of Joe and the band. The Lighthouse Lounge is located on the same street, less than a block away from Joe's first apartment in Ogden and the historic Porters and Waiters Club where Joe played countless shows with so many important jazz legends in the 1950s and 60s.”
Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, and Ray Charles are some of the many jazz musicians McQueen performed with in Utah.
In later years, the Joe McQueen Quartet would hear the stories. “The band would all cram into Joe's tiny shed behind his house (we could barely all fit in there). This is where Joe taught us the tunes,” says Conger. “He shared a lot of stories with us there, and on the many car rides to the gigs, that he did not tell at the shows. It was the absolute coolest hang and a rite of passage for only a select few of his closest friends and bandmates.”
A life lesson from McQueen that he recalls is, “Love everyone and don't waste your time hanging around with or hating on people that are just going to bring you down.” Conger’s favorite McQueen song is “Joe’s original that he wrote with this band”—The Thing.
We asked how Joe McQueen would want to be celebrated on this day. “Joe was never one to get caught up in fame and recognition, but he loved to play; he loved his community; and he never turned down a chance to play a show with his quartet,” says Conger. “Joe always took advantage of this day to book a show, gather his friends, and spend the night playing music, telling stories, and share his singular wisdom. I think that he would want those of us who were there to continue this tradition and build on it- bringing more people in and passing Joe's legacy on to the next generation.”
No one will be filling in for Joe on the saxophone at Tuesday’s show, but Conger says there will be guest musicians sitting in with the band—“all musicians that played with Joe over the years are encouraged to bring their instruments to the event for a big jam session at the end!”
The Legendary Joe McQueen Quartet album on vinyl will be played after the show for the “late night partiers” announced the band on their Facebook event page.
The quartet is planning another big celebration at Lighthouse Lounge on Joe McQueen’s birthday, May 30—also a state recognized day and the official Joe McQueen Day in the city of Ogden, Conger says. The band is also playing at the Ogden Living Heritage Festival, April 28-19 with special guest Dan Jonas on trumpet.
The Joe McQueen Day concert with the Joe McQueen Quartet is 8-11 p.m. on Tuesday, April 18, at Lighthouse Lounge, 130 Historic 25th Street, Ogden, Utah. Doors open at 7 p.m. The event is $5 and ages 21 and over.
Learn more about Ogden’s legendary Joe McQueen this five minute film: The Legendary Joe McQueen: Utah’s Original Jazz by Visit Utah.
*Joe McQueen Quartet has postponed the Joe McQueen Day celebration, stating on their Facebook event page: “We are sorry to announce that the event on April 18th has been cancelled! Covid struck again! One of our group tested positive today and out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to reschedule this event to May 30th, Joe's birthday and Joe McQueen Day in the city of Ogden! We apologize for the cancellation and hope to see you all on May 30th!”
