Joe Elefante

Joe Elefante is a versatile jazz pianist, saxophonist, vocalist, composer, arranger, and bandleader whose musical journey has taken him across four continents. Born in 1978, Elefante studied jazz saxophone and piano at New Jersey City University before launching a successful career in performance and composition—founding the Joe Elefante Big Band in 2001, which became the house band at New Jersey’s Cecil’s Jazz Club and received national media attention. As a Jazz Ambassador for the Kennedy Center and a touring pianist for the U.S. State Department, he’s performed throughout Eastern Europe and the Middle East, while also writing and arranging music for jazz ensemble, chorus, orchestra, and chamber groups. His work spans jazz and musical theater, having served as a musical director, conductor, and musician for productions at the Paper Mill Playhouse and Broadway’s Jersey Boys.

After taking time away from music to raise a family and teach, Elefante recently returned to his creative passions following a personal loss, channeling both resilience and spiritual inspiration into his latest project, Joe Elefante’s Wheel of Dharma. This quintet, featuring leading players like Freddie Hendrix and Erena Terakubo, blends original post-bop compositions with a deep reverence for jazz tradition, as heard on recent releases such as Return of the Light and Jazz for Dummies. Elefante’s music—described as both modern and steeped in the spirit of the classics—reflects his belief in keeping one eye on the past, present, and future of jazz.