Joe Marsala

An excellent swing clarinetist who could fit into Dixieland settings yet welcomed Dizzy Gillespie to a memorable session in 1945, Joe Marsala was the older brother of trumpeter Marty Marsala (1909-1975) and the husband of the great jazz harpist Adele Girard (1913-1993). He freelanced around Chicago starting in the late '20s, including with Wingy Manone and Ben Pollack. He recorded with Manone in the mid-'30s, playing with Wingy on 52nd Street during 1935-1936. Marsala soon became a leader himself and during the next ten years (much of which was spent playing at the Hickory Hou...