Joe Aaron

Joe Aaron was a Milwaukee music icon with a career that spanned across eight decades. 

A saxophone and clarinet player, Aaron was influential as a player and strengthened music in Milwaukee as a teacher. He was tireless, playing gigs of all sorts and in all sizes from parties to clubs to orchestra pits.

Aaron remained active in music well into his 80s. He made his name with old standards, playing jazz, big band and classical.

In the early 1940s, Aaron played with Clyde McCoy and His Orchestra. He played with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in its early days, and was part of the music staff of WTMJ when television took hold as a medium.

His influence will long live on through his students. He was a sax instructor at UW-Milwaukee. Also a teacher at Juneau High School, he taught music for five of his 30 years.