Kirk Joseph has earned his seat at the table of New Orleans’ greatest
musicians and will surely claim his place in music history as perhaps
the greatest innovator of his instrument, the sousaphone. For most, a
mention of the sousaphone conjures images of marching bands and drum
cadences. But in the hands of Joseph, the instrument comes to life in
ways that its namesake, John Phillip Sousa, could have hardly imagined.
During his long tenure with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Joseph
developed his innovative approach to the sousaphone, replacing the
instruments limits, as perceived by his predecessors, with a rich
musical vocabulary. Never before had such a creative and stylistic
range been demonstrated. But the new standards set by Kirk Joseph have
prompted many since to follow his lead.
"Sir Kirk (Joseph), the sousaphone player, is such an obvious star cause it's so unusual to have somebody so fluent on an instrument which almost by definition is not fluent, really. He's a one-in-a-million player."
— Elvis Costello talking to Tom Waits, Option Magazine July/Aug 1989
musicians and will surely claim his place in music history as perhaps
the greatest innovator of his instrument, the sousaphone. For most, a
mention of the sousaphone conjures images of marching bands and drum
cadences. But in the hands of Joseph, the instrument comes to life in
ways that its namesake, John Phillip Sousa, could have hardly imagined.
During his long tenure with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Joseph
developed his innovative approach to the sousaphone, replacing the
instruments limits, as perceived by his predecessors, with a rich
musical vocabulary. Never before had such a creative and stylistic
range been demonstrated. But the new standards set by Kirk Joseph have
prompted many since to follow his lead.
"Sir Kirk (Joseph), the sousaphone player, is such an obvious star cause it's so unusual to have somebody so fluent on an instrument which almost by definition is not fluent, really. He's a one-in-a-million player."
— Elvis Costello talking to Tom Waits, Option Magazine July/Aug 1989
