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).
Joel has recently been performing with the Fernando Huergo Big Band
and the Allan Chase Septet.
Macuco Quintet (click on name for bio)
Allan Chase - alto, soprano, & baritone saxophones
Joel Springer - tenor & sopranino saxophones
Rick Stone - alto saxophone & clarinet
Fernando Huergo - bass
Austin McMahon - drums
Ma⋅cu⋅co (ma ku' ko)
1. a street in Sao Paulo, Brazil, named after
2. a South American bird.
Macuco Quintet is
based in Somerville, Massachusetts, and was formed in
2014 by Joel Springer to play original compositions
& some by Hermeto Pascoal, Moacir Santos,
and Julius Hemphill.
Macuco Quintet's music has been influenced by the
people, music, and nature of Brazil; 1970s modal jazz,
Haitian compas & Afro-Cuban music; composers Julius
Hemphill, Carla Bley, Sun Ra, and more.
