Joe Holiday
Joseph Befumo, known professionally as Joe Holiday (10 May 1925 – 9 February 2016), was an American jazz saxophonist who was born in Sicily. The father of the Befumo family played clarinet. In 1925 the family emigrated to the United States, taking residence in Newark, New Jersey, where young Joseph picked up his father's instrument and mastered it. While still in his teens he began forming musical groups and obtained his first recording contract (with King Records) in 1949. He adopted the stage name "Joe Holiday" before the recording contract date. Holiday played hard bop early in his career, but he is best known for his adaptations of the mambo style. Many of his sessions included members of Machito's ensemble, the Afro-Cubans. He had a hit in the U.S. with "This Is Happiness" in 1951 and recorded for Prestige Records with Max Roach and Billy Taylor. Sarah Vaughan recorded his composition "Serenada". Holiday also does abstract painting. He and his wife, Kelly Holiday, are president and vice-president, respectively, of the St. Lucie Professional Arts League based in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where he presents annual "Art & All That Jazz" events, which have included Linda Cole (singer and daughter of Nat King Cole), Miami musicians Ira Sullivan, violinist Nicola Yearling, and pianist Lenore Raphael. |
Birth and Death Data: Born May 10, 1925 (Sicily), Died February 9, 2016
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1955 - 1957
Roles Represented in DAHR: tenor saxophone
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Decca | 88657 | 9/16/1955 | Timmy's tune | Joe Holiday and his Band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |||
Decca | 88658 | 9/16/1955 | Love is a many splendored thing | Joe Holiday and his Band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |||
Decca | 88659 | 9/16/1955 | Opening night | Joe Holiday and his Band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |||
Decca | 88660 | 9/16/1955 | Tiny mite | Joe Holiday and his Band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |||
Decca | 101595 | 2/7/1957 | Curtain call | Joe Holiday | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |||
Decca | 101596 | 2/7/1957 | Mimi the champ | Joe Holiday | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |||
Decca | 101597 | 2/7/1957 | Hello to you | Joe Holiday | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |||
Decca | 101598 | 2/7/1957 | Winter snow | Joe Holiday | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |||
Decca | 101599 | 2/7/1957 | Skeetie | Joe Holiday | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |||
Decca | 101600 | 2/7/1957 | Dorothy's little shadow | Joe Holiday | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |||
Decca | 101601 | 2/13/1957 | Study in turquoise | Joe Holiday | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |||
Decca | 101602 | 2/13/1957 | Cousin Nino | Joe Holiday | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Holiday, Joe," accessed September 3, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/321567.
Holiday, Joe. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved September 3, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/321567.
"Holiday, Joe." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 3 September 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Holiday, Joe, 1925- - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no97048101
Wikidata: Joe Holiday - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q6210371
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/56217831
MusicBrainz: Joe Holiday - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/1618831f-5426-4901-94c8-bf402912c3b8
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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