Tenor saxophonist Joe Manis released his debut album Evidence in 2009 on the NYC-based 8Bells label. Evidence features Manis' own deft compositions as well as new takes on standards by Gershwin, Monk and others. The Joe Manis Trio was featured at Rontoms during the 2010 Portland Jazz Festival, a performance that was a featured Willamette Weekly “Pick” and received praise from local music critics and bloggers.
As both a leader and a sideman, Joe has presented performances and jazz masterclasses at Whitman College, Bates College, University of Texas at Arlington, University of Oregon, Ferris State University, and South Seattle Community College. He received a Masters of Music in Jazz Studies-Performance with Academic Honor from the New England Conservatory and a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies from the University of Oregon. Additional studies were at the Eastman School of Music. A dedicated teacher as well as performer, he serves as the Director of The Shedd’s Jazz Academy and South Eugene High School’s Jazz Band III.
In other performance formats, Joe currently shouts background vocals and plays alto saxophone with the Cherry Poppin' Daddies and appears on their albums Susquehanna and Skaboy JFK: The Skankin' Hits of.... He has played with Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited and appears on their album Rise Up! on Real World Records; he has also performed with the Temptations, the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra, and the Ken Schaphorst Big Band featuring trombonist Andre Hayward.