Joe Maneri
Joseph Gabriel Esther Maneri (February 9, 1927 – August 24, 2009) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. Violinist Mat Maneri is his son. Maneri was considered a pioneer and important theorist of microtonal improvisation.
Also recorded as Joseph Maneri · Joseph Gabriel Esther Maneri
Joe Maneri

C. Neil Scott Columbia, South Carolina, USA · Joe Maneri 2004 · CC BY 2.0
- Name
- Joe Maneri
- Birth Name
- Joseph Gabriel Esther Maneri
- Born
- 9 February 1927
- Birthplace
- Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
- Died
- 24 August 2009
- Place of death
- Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
- Occupation
- * Musician
- Spouse
- Sonja Maneri (née Holzwarth)
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- jazz · avant-garde jazz · free jazz
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Documentary summary
Joseph Gabriel Esther Maneri (February 9, 1927 – August 24, 2009) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. Violinist Mat Maneri is his son. Maneri was considered a pioneer and important theorist of microtonal improvisation.
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Note VALÉORINE
Joe Maneri (1927–2009) was an American clarinetist, composer and jazz musician, among other activities. Born in Brooklyn, the clarinetist died in Boston. Joe Maneri worked for New England Conservatory. Genres include avant-garde jazz, free jazz and jazz.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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Authority files
museum · 627a9b56-5d4c-40af-9f6e-3b2f4d20b056 · wikidata · Q1691517 · wikipedia · Joe Maneri
In this article
Biography
Biography
Early in his career, Maneri played with Ted Harris and studied with composer Josef Schmid. In 37 years teaching at New England Conservatory of Music, his students included John Medeski, Marty Ehrlich, Eyvind Kang, Matana Roberts and Matthew Shipp. According to the New York Times: He rarely performed outside the academy in the first two decades of his teaching career. But when his son Mat, an accomplished improviser on violin and viola, started to perform in the late 1980s, he encouraged his father, then in his mid-60s, to return to the stage with his saxophone and clarinet. The father and son began playing together, joined by the bassist John Lockwood and the drummer Randy Peterson. The Joe Maneri Quartet developed a cult following in Boston and by 1993 was performing around the world, presenting mysterious and original sets of free improvising, with shades of blues and ballad-style saxophone playing.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Joe Maneri • Birth Name — Joseph Gabriel Esther Maneri • Born — 9 February 1927 • Birthplace — Brooklyn, New York, U.S. • Died — 24 August 2009 • Place of death — Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. • Genre — * Jazz • microtonal jazz • free improvisation • Occupation — * Musician • composer • Instrument — * Tenor saxophone • clarinet • Years Active — 1960–2009 • Label — * Leo • ECM • Hathut • Spouse — Sonja Maneri (née Holzwarth)
Identity
Identity
Joe Maneri is recorded as composer, clarinetist, pianist, music educator and university teacher. Formation and teaching. Each of those relationships is stated by the authority record rather than inferred from style.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1927
Joe Maneri born at Brooklyn.
2009
Joe Maneri died at Boston.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Brooklyn.
Birth place
Boston.
Death place
Discography
• Kalavinka (Cochlea, 1989) • Get Ready to Receive Yourself (Leo, 1995) • Three Men Walking with Mat Maneri and Joe Morris (ECM, 1996) • Dahabenzapple (hatART, 1996) • Let the Horse Go (Leo, 1996) • In Full Cry (ECM, 1997) • Coming Down the Mountain (hatOLOGY, 1997) • Paniots Nine (Avant, 1998) • Blessed with Mat Maneri (ECM, 1998) • Tales of Rohnlief with Mat Maneri and Barre Phillips (ECM, 1999) • Tenderly (hatOLOGY, 1999) • Out Right Now with Mat Maneri and Joe Morris (hatOLOGY, 2001) • Voices Lowered (Leo, 2001) • The Trio Concerts (Leo, 2001) • Going to Church (AUM Fidelity, 2002) • Angles of Repose (ECM, 2004) • Peace Concert with Peter Dolger (Atavistic, 2008) • Pinerskol with Masashi Harada (Leo, 2009) With Mat Maneri • Acceptance (hatOLOGY, 1996) • Pentagon (Thirsty Ear, 2005)
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1691517: Joe Maneri
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
- “Joe Maneri”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Institutional database
- MusicBrainz artist record for Joe Maneri
Scholarly · MetaBrainz Foundation
Boston Microtonal Society
In 1988, Maneri founded the Boston Microtonal Society, dedicated to microtonal music and tuning. It is currently led by James Bergin and Julia Werntz.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Loewy, Steve. The Trio Concerts – Joe Maneri Trio Album. AllMusic.
- 2.Fordham, John. Joe Maneri obituary. The Guardian. October 27, 2009.
- 3.Chinen, Nate. A Master Improviser Is Remembered With Masterly Improvisation. The New York Times. 2010-02-11. 0362-4331.
- 4.Ratliff, Ben. Joe Maneri, Experimental Musician and Composer, Dies at 82. The New York Times. 2009-08-31. 0362-4331.
- 5.usurped 1=Boston Microtonal Society .
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
MusicBrainz artist record for Joe ManeriMetaBrainz Foundation
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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