Joel Springer was raised in Bloomington, Indiana and moved to Boston in 1984
to study with master saxophone teacher Joe Allard. That same year he began a three-year adventure with Volo Volo,
a Haitian dance band, that included touring Martinique, France, Canada,
and New York, and playing many parties in Dorchester, Massachusetts.
He joined Your Neighborhood Saxophone Quartet (YNSQ) in 1989, and with the group has performed at Merkin Hall, New York (WNYC's "New Sounds Live");
Bang on a Can Festival, New York; Mellon PSFS Jazz Festival, Philadelphia; Bimhuis, Amsterdam, and other venues on four European tours; a Midwest tour;
and numerous clubs & concert halls in New England. Joel recorded two CDs with YNSQ: "Plutonian Nights: The Music of Sun Ra" (Coppens, 1991) and "Wolftone" (Coppens, 1994).
Since 2003 Joel has made numerous trips to Brazil to visit his in-laws, and the beauty of Brazil's nature, music, and people have influenced his recent compositions.
His latest project, Macuco Quintet, features those compositions and others brought to life by an all-star group.
Joel is an Adjunct Instructor at Phillips Academy, Andover, where he teaches saxophone and coaches a saxophone quartet.
With gratitude to my music teachers & mentors, in chronological order: Tom Meyer, David Baker, Harry Miedema, Joe Allard, Jerry Bergonzi, Tom Hall, Allan Chase,
Joseph Maneri, and Jon Damian. - Joel
