Joe Ferry

Joe Ferry

Dr. Joe Ferry is an Award Winning record producer, author, bassist and educator. Over the course of his 35-year career, he has produced records and played bass for numerous artists, including The Skatalites, Dr. John, Rhonda Vincent, Eileen Ivers, Nicolette Larson, John Hammond, Sue Foley, Double Trouble, The Roches, The New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars, SKAndalous All-Stars, Uzimon, Joey Ray, Huey Lewis and the News and Delbert McClinton. He has several Grammy nominations and one Grammy, The Chancellor's Award For Teaching Excellence, and Best Fiction at the San Francisco Book Festival. Dr. Ferry holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Long Island University, a Master of Fine Arts degree from SUNY Purchase, and a Ph.D. From Kennedy Western University. He is a faculty member at State University of New York at Purchase. As an educator, Dr. Joe Ferry's former students include Regina Spektor, Langhorne Slim, Dan Deacon, Blake Ian, J-Zone, Elite, Phil "The Butcha" Moffa, Richie Castellano (of Blue Öyster Cult), Jenny Owen Youngs, Bess Rogers, Hanan Rubinstein, Cyrille-Aimee, Dan Romer and many more. Joe Ferry & The Big Ska Band, the ska group that Joe leads, has released several albums on the Shantytown Record label, the most recent of which is entitled "Big Up". In 2013 Joe started his own publishing company and record label, Joe Ferry LLC. His debut novel, "Connected: Mob Stories From My Past," received critical acclaimed with stellar reviews on amazon.com and the companion CD, "Connected: Mob Stories & Reggae Riddims," features tracks by such legendary artists as Augustus Pablo, King Tubby, Rita Marley, Victor Rice, The Butcha, Menace, Channel Tubes and The Big Ska Band. Joe's "Mob Talk" (spoken word) EP has just been released as well. In addition to "Big Up", CDs recently produced by Joe Ferry include "The Crux & The Bluestocking" by Emily Hope Price. His latest CD, "Skankology: The Ultimate Big Ska Band Collection," is in production now and the vinyl version of "Connected: Mob Stories & Reggae Riddims" will be released in September 2013. Joe Ferry also played bass on "Fall In Line" and "Double EP" by Matt Simons. Joe's second novel, "Connected" Songs My Father Sang," will be released in Winter 2014.

Update this biography »
Complete biography of Joe Ferry »