Joe Riposo

Joseph "Joe" Riposo is a saxophonist, composer, arranger, and educator at Syracuse University. He is currently the Director of Jazz Studies at Syracuse University and also directs the Morton B. Schiff Jazz Ensemble. He has played with many prominent jazz artists such as Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr., Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, the Mcguire Sisters, the Woody Herman Band, Jackie Leonard, Diane Schuur, Harry Connick Jr., and Natalie Cole. In addition, Riposo has been a conductor for many jazz ensembles with notable guest artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Phil Woods, Marvin Stamm, Glenn Drewes, Darius Brubeck, Nick Brignola, and Bob Kindred.

Background
Riposo has a long history in the Syracuse area. He grew up in Syracuse as a clarinetist but quickly moved to saxophone and other various woodwind instruments. Riposo went on to study music at Syracuse University and graduated in 1957. After graduation, he moved down to Fort Dix, a US Army base located just south of Trenton, New Jersey. There, he became the Chief Instructor in the School of Music. During this time, Riposo was also touring internationally with the Woodland Quartet. In 1960, he returned back to Syracuse in order to pursue a career in music education.

Education and Career
Riposo served as the director of music education for the Liverpool Central School District for 31 years and was also the president of the International Association of Jazz Educators (New York State unit) as well as the North Eastern Division Coordinator for the International Association of Jazz Educators. In addition, he has played the role of jazz coordinator and clinician for the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) and holds certification as a woodwind and state jazz adjudicator for the NYSSMA association. Riposo retired from the Liverpool Central School District in 1991. Riposo’s education spans farther than the students with which he interacts. He has published over 50 books, all of which focus on developing not only jazz technique, but a jazz language. His book “Jazz Improvisation: A Whole Brain Approach” uses research in “hemisphericity” or lateralization of brain function to teach jazz improvisation.

Current Work
Riposo is still an active performer, composer, arranger, and clinician. He currently plays in the Salt City Jazz Collective at the Syracuse Suds Factory, a bar and restaurant located in Syracuse’s Armory Square. One of his most recent projects includes an original jazz composition commissioned by the Mellon CNY Humanities Corridor and the College of Arts and Sciences of Syracuse University.

Awards and Achievements

 * Presidential medallion for his contributions to the NYSSMA organization
 * Outstanding Jazz Educators Award from the National Band Association
 * American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) Award (fifteen years in a row)
 * Served The National Music Foundation as an educational advisory council
 * 1997 Syracuse Area Music Awards (SAMMYS) Hall of Fame inductee
 * 2003 Fine Arts Hall of Fame inductee
 * 2008 Central New York Jazz Arts Foundation Jazz Educator of the Year
 * 2009 “Jazz Legend of Upstate New York”
 * 2011 SAMMYS Music Educator Hall of Fame inductee