Joe LaBarbera

Joe LaBarbera grew up in Mount Morris, New York, with his father as his first drum teacher.

After two years at Berklee College of Music in the late 1960s, he began touring with singer Frankie Randall.

Subsequently, he spent two years with the U.S. Army band at Fort Dix, New Jersey.
His professional career took off playing with Woody Herman and the Thundering Herd.

His fame grew in the 1970s by recording and touring with Chuck Mangione. He went on to work with Bob Brookmeyer, Jim Hall, Art Farmer, Art Pepper, John Scofield, Toots Thielemans and Phil Woods.

Joe LaBarbera since 1979 has been a member of Bill Evans’ trio, with whom he has recorded 16 albums. He also collaborated with Tony Bennett throughout much of the 1980s and 1990s. He has taught at the California Institute of the Arts and at the Bud Shank Jazz Workshop.