Guitarist Joe Carmouche was born in Houston, Texas and raised in the city's Northside in 5th Ward and Trinity Garden. Growing up in the mid 60s, Joe remembers hearing jazz records around his house on Saturday mornings but like most kids his age, he preferred to watch cartoons and go outside and play. His father was an avid jazz listener with a huge collection of records by Jimmy Smith, Kenny Burrell, and his dad's favorite - Wes Montgomery. However, at this point, Kent (his family calls him by his middle name) was not interested in playing a musical instrument. That would soon change. When he was about six years old, his parents bought him a record player for Christmas. For the next few years, he spent countless hours in his room in front of a mirror singing and imitating dance moves. It's safe to say that his first musical idol was none other than The Godfather of Soul - James Brown.
One day, out of boredom and curiosity, Joe was rummaging through a closet at his grandmother's house and saw a tall box hidden behind some clothes. Inside the box was an acoustic guitar. Because he was not supposed to go in that closet, Joe sheepishly asked his grandmother if he could have the guitar. His grandmother told him that it was his aunt's guitar and that he would have to ask her. Joe's aunt Quincetta played clarinet in the marching and concert bands at Kashmere High School under the direction of Conrad "Prof" Johnson. She also played piano in church. At some point, she picked up the guitar too. She left all of her instruments at home when she got married. It just so happened that Joe was drawn to the guitar: Her piano was always in the living room but Joe never touched it. With his aunt's blessing, Joe began fiddling with the guitar. Almost immediately, his mother took notice of his interest in the guitar and told him that if he was going to play the guitar he needed to learn to read music and learn to play with the proper technique. Within a few months after picking up the guitar, Joe began private lessons with Lyn Branham at H&H Music in Northwest Mall. Joe started with the Mel Bay Guitar Method but later developed techniques for Rock, Blues, and Jazz. Joe studied with Branham for three years.
Joe started a garage band with his lifelong friend Dwayne Cook. Joe fondly remembers that it was just the two of them at first: Dwayne playing drums while Joe played the melodies and rhythms on guitar. When he was about 13 years old, his mother bought him a brand new Fender Stratocaster from Parker Music in Northline Mall. The salesman was a man named Sam Anderson, an accomplished jazz guitarist. Sam told him, "I can tell by the way you play that one day you're gonna play Jazz. When you do, you'll need a guitar like this." Sam then pulled out a Gibson L5 and played some jazz progressions and licks for Joe. Joe was impressed and admired Sam's jazz style. Joe continued to play Rock and R&B but started playing jazzier arrangements while attending Terrell Jr. High. It was there that he first played in an organized band and performed at concerts and talent shows under the direction of James Hurdle. Upon graduation from Jr. High, Joe won the "Most Outstanding Stage Band Member" trophy.
Prior to starting high school, Joe's mother enrolled him in the Summer Jazz Workshop. This is where Joe really developed a knowledge and further appreciation of Jazz. The founders of the workshop, Bubbha Thomas and Conrad Johnson, would prove to be instrumental in developing Joe as a professional jazz musician. One advantage of attending the workshop was that Joe spent the summer studying with the man who would be his high school band director - Conrad "Prof" Johnson. By the time Joe entered Kashmere High School as a 14-year old 10th grader, he went straight to the advanced Stage Band. This was an honor because competition was fierce to participate in this world renown band. The stage band had previously toured Europe and was honored in Okinawa, Japan. In addition to that, the band's music was well documented in eight albums.
Joe's years playing in the Kashmere Stage Band and attending the Summer Jazz Workshop were highly productive. Joe took full advantage of every opportunity to see Kashmere's Assistant Band Director, Sylvester "Stank" LeBlanc, perform with his band The 5th Ward Express featuring guitarist Clarence Hollimon. Joe was very fond of Hollimon who showed Joe more jazz chords and progressions. As a teenager, Joe played in countless bands and studio sessions but it would be Bubbha Thomas who gave Joe his first professional gig in 1979 with Bubbha Thomas & The Lightmen. Joe was only 16 years old. Joe also recorded a record with The Lightmen called "Boogie Down" which featured Joe's rhythm & lead guitar throughout. While playing with the Lightmen alongside Kirk Whalum, Joe also backed Arnett Cobb and David "Fathead" Newman in concerts.
It tickles Joe when he thinks about the fact that at age 17, all he dreamed of doing was playing jazz and living in New York. "I was very young and a bit naive. I had no idea of what it took to make a living in New York." For many years, Joe was out of the music scene as he pursued a career in law enforcement. Joe eventually started playing again and formed a band called Hot Ice. Joe also played with Grady Gaines Jr's Quiet Storm Band and The Morgan Bouldin Band. One of the members of Hot Ice was saxophonist Bruce Middleton, also a former Kashmere Stage Band member. Middleton encouraged Joe to record a demo in hopes of getting a record deal. Joe did just that with the help of keyboardist James Reason. His first project was a cassette titled "Coming Out". A few years later, Joe released his debut CD, After Hours, followed by A Touch of Jazz and Art of The Groove.
Joe's popularity grew in Houston as his songs were being played on Majic 102, KTSU, KCOH, and other stations. At the same time, Joe's band opened for many artists coming to town such as Michael Franks, Boney James, Nneena Freelon, and Joe Sample. For five years, Joe performed every Wednesday for the Smooth Jazz After Work Escape at the legendary Scott Gertner's Skybar. From 2007-2010, Joe owned and operated Legends Jazz Cafe, an intimate jazz club featuring Cajun cuisine.
Joe is employed by the Houston Independent School District where he teaches Music at MacGregor Elementary. During the summer, Joe teaches at the Summer Jazz Workshop.
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