Joe Dixon

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Joe Dixon (April 21, 1917, Lynn, Massachusetts - May 28, 1998, Oceanside, New York) was an American jazz reed player.

Dixon learned clarinet from age seven and studied at the New England Conservatory of Music in 1934-35, later learning saxophone and flute. He moved to New York City in 1935, where he played with Bill Staffon's orchestra, then joined Tommy Dorsey in 1936-37. He played briefly with Gus Arnheim in 1937, then played with Bunny Berigan (1937-38) and Fred Waring (1939-43). He served in the Navy in 1944, leading a radio orchestra during this time, then worked later in the 1940s with Eddie Condon (1945-46), Bobby Hackett (1945), Phil Napoleon (1946), and Miff Mole (1947). In 1948-49 he worked in orchestras for NBC and CBS, then did freelance work through the 1950s. From 1960 to 1963 he led the Long Island Jazz Quartette, but was hurt in a car crash in the 1960s which sidelined his career for several years. In the interim he worked as a disc jockey. He led the Nassau County Jazz Festival Orchestra in the 1970s, as well as the Nassau Neophonic Jazz Ensemble (1973-81). He also founded a Swing Legacy Band in 1980, which was active for most of the 1980s.