# Joe Chambers

Joe Chambers (born June 25, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, vibraphonist and composer. He attended the Philadelphia Conservatory for one year. In the 1960s and 1970s, Chambers gigged with many high-profile artists such as Eric Dolphy, Charles Mingus, Wayne Shorter, and Chick Corea. During this period, his compositions were featured on some of the albums on which he appeared, such as those with Freddie Hubbard and Bobby Hutcherson. He has released sixteen albums as a bandleader and been a member of several incarnations of Max Roach's M'Boom percussion ensemble.
He has also taught, including at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City, where he leads the Outlaw Band. In 2008, he was hired to be the Thomas S. Kenan Distinguished Professor of Jazz in the Department of Music at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

## Personal Life

Joe Chambers was born in Stoneacre, Virginia in 1942. However, Chambers was mostly raised in Chester, Pennsylvania. He attended the Philadelphia Conservatory and American University in Washington, D.C., where he studied composition before moving to New York. Chambers lived in Washington, D.C. from 1960 to 1963. The first instrument he played was the piano before he moved on to playing the vibraphone and drums. He is most well known for his work in Freddie Hubbard’s Breaking Point, along with his composed piece, “Mirrors." He is a retired educator and works as a jazz musician, composer, and leader.

## Career

Chambers gained a lot of inspiration from various jazz drummers, such as Max Roach, Philly Joe Jones, and Elvin Jones. Chambers joined Blue Note back in the 1960s, where he was a house percussionist and drummer. He was given the opportunity after moving to New York in 1963, which is when he initially started learning how to play. It was mentioned in an interview that Tony Williams, a drummer, set Chambers up with a recording of “Mirrors,” where he gained exposure that led to him joining Blue Note. His first recording with Blue Note was recorded with Freddie Hubbard in Breaking Point.
Chambers’ earliest gigs were recorded during the time of his eighteenth year when he toured with Bobby Lewis and the JFK Quintet. Chambers was mainly working at the Bohemian Caverns in Washington, D.C., where he spent six nights a week playing gigs. He was recognized by Freddie Hubbard, who motivated him to move to New York City in 1963, where he played with various artists such as Eric Dolphy, Freddie Hubbard, Jimmy Giuffre, and Andrew Hill. He then shifted to playing for Minton’s Playhouse in 1964 alongside Blue Mitchell and Chick Corea.
In 1974, Chambers set off as a band leader and created a new album, The Almoravid. Chambers was an original member of Max Roach’s percussion ensemble that formed in 1970, M’Boom. The group often practiced at Warren Smith’s Studio on West 21st Street in Manhattan to become capable of performing various instruments, which is when Chambers first learned the vibraphone. He was able to play alongside Sonny Rollins, Tommy Flanagan, Charles Mingus, and Art Farmer. Chambers created the Super Jazz Trio with Flanagan and bassist Reggie Workman.
In the late 1970s, he helped lead a band alongside Larry Young, an organist. In the early 1980s, Chambers collaborated with artists such as Chet Baker and Ray Mantilla.
Chamber started his journey as an instructor in 1990 at the New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music in NYC. He later moved to teach at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. He currently does not teach and is focusing on his career in jazz. It was not until 2021 that he returned to Blue Note and released his album, Samba de Maracatu. He released another album, Dance Kobina, in 2023.

## Achievements

During his time as an educator at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, he was titled the first Thomas S. Kenan Distinguished Professor of Jazz in 2008.

## Discography
### As leader

* 1973: The Almoravid (Muse, 1974)
* 1976: New World (Finite, 1976)
* 1977: Double Exposure (Muse, 1978)
* 1979: Joe Chambers and Friends: Chamber Music (Baystate, 1979)
* 1979: Joe Chambers Plays Piano (Denon, 1979)
* 1981: New York Concerto featuring Yoshiaki Masuo (Baystate, 1981)
* 1991: Phantom of the City (Candid, 1992) – live
* 1995: Isla Verde with Trio Dejaiz (Paddle Wheel, 1995)
* 1998: Mirrors (Blue Note, 1999)
* 2002: Urban Grooves (Eighty-Eight's, 2002)
* 2005: The Outlaw (Savant, 2006)
* 2009: Horace to Max (Savant, 2010)
* 2012: Joe Chambers Moving Pictures Orchestra (Savant, 2012)
* 2015: Landscapes (Savant, 2016)
* 2020: Samba de Maracatu (Blue Note, 2021)
* 2022: Dance Kobina (Blue Note, 2023)

### As sideman

With Franck Amsallem
* Summer Times (Sunnyside, 2003)
With Chet Baker
* Peace (Enja, 1982)
With Donald Byrd
* Mustang! (Blue Note, 1967) – recorded in 1964-66
* Fancy Free (Blue Note, 1970) – recorded in 1969
With Chick Corea
* Tones for Joan's Bones (Atlantic, 1968) – recorded in 1966
With Stanley Cowell
* Brilliant Circles (Freedom, 1972) – recorded in 1969
* Back to the Beautiful (Concord, 1989)
With Miles Davis
* The Complete In a Silent Way Sessions (Columbia, 2001) – recorded in 1968-69
With Art Farmer
* Something Tasty (Baystate, 1979)
With Don Friedman
* Metamorphosis (Prestige, 1966)
With Jimmy Giuffre
* New York Concerts (1965; Elemental Music, 2014)
With Joe Henderson
* Mode for Joe (Blue Note, 1966)
* Big Band (Verve, 1997) – recorded in 1992-96
With Andrew Hill
* Andrew!!! (Blue Note, 1968) – recorded in 1964
* Compulsion!!!!! (Blue Note, 1967) – recorded in 1965
* One For One (Blue Note, 1975) – recorded in 1965-70
With Freddie Hubbard
* Breaking Point (Blue Note, 1964)
With Bobby Hutcherson
* Dialogue (Blue Note, 1965)
* Components (Blue Note, 1966) – recorded in 1965
* Happenings (Blue Note, 1967) – recorded in 1966
* Total Eclipse (Blue Note, 1969) – recorded in 1968
* Now!, (Blue Note, 1970) – recorded in 1969
* Oblique (Blue Note, 1979) – recorded in 1967
* Spiral (Blue Note, 1979) – recorded in 1965-68
* Patterns (Blue Note, 1980) – recorded in 1968
* Medina, (Blue Note, 1980) – recorded in 1969
* Blow Up, (JMY, 1969 released 1990)
With Robin Kenyatta
* Nomusa (Muse, 1975)
With Lee Konitz
* Figure & Spirit (Progressive, 1977) – recorded in 1976
With Hubert Laws
* Wild Flower (Atlantic, 1972)
With Ray Mantilla
* Mantilla (Inner City, 1978)
With M'Boom
* Re: Percussion (Strata-East, 1973)
* M'Boom (Columbia, 1979)
* Collage (Soul Note, 1984)
* To the Max! (Enja, 1992) – recorded in 1990–91
With Charles Mingus
* Charles Mingus and Friends in Concert (Columbia, 1972)
* Something Like a Bird (Atlantic, 1978)
* Me, Myself an Eye (Atlantic, 1978)
With Grachan Moncur III
* Shadows, (Denon, 1977)
With Karl Ratzer
* In Search Of The Ghost, (Vanguard, 1978)
With Sam Rivers
* Contours, (Blue Note, 1967) – recorded in 1965
With Jeremy Steig
* Lend Me Your Ears, (CMP Records, 1978)
With Woody Shaw
* In the Beginning (Muse, 1983) – recorded in 1965
* The Iron Men with Anthony Braxton (Muse, 1980) – recorded in 1977
With Archie Shepp
* Fire Music (Impulse!, 1965)
* On This Night (Impulse!, 1965)
* New Thing at Newport (Impulse!, 1966) – recorded in 1965. also features a set by John Coltrane.
* For Losers (Impulse!, 1969)
* Kwanza (Impulse!, 1969)
* On Green Dolphin Street (Denon, 1978)
With Wayne Shorter
* Et Cetera (Blue Note, 1980) – recorded in 1965
* The All Seeing Eye (Blue Note, 1966) – recorded in 1965
* Adam's Apple (Blue Note, 1967) – recorded in 1966
* Schizophrenia (Blue Note, 1969) – recorded in 1967
With Heiner Stadler
* Brains On Fire Vol. 1 (Labor, 1973) – recorded in 1966-71
With John Stubblefield
* Prelude (Storyville, 1978)
With Ed Summerlin
* Sum of the Parts (Ictus, 1998)
With The Super Jazz Trio
* The Super Jazz Trio (Baystate, 1978)
* Something Tasty (Baystate, 1979)
* The Standard (Baystate, 1980)
With Hidefumi Toki
* City (Baystate, 1978)
With Charles Tolliver
* Paper Man (Freedom, 1975) – recorded in 1968
With McCoy Tyner
* Tender Moments (Blue Note, 1968) – recorded in 1967
With Miroslav Vitous
* Infinite Search, (Embryo, 1970) – recorded in 1969
With Tyrone Washington
* Natural Essence (Blue Note, 1968) – recorded in 1967
With Joe Zawinul
* Zawinul (Atlantic, 1971) – recorded in 1970