Joe Browne grew up on the Kent coast in an artistic family.

He learned violin from the age of 6, then took up the saxophone at 11, soon discovering a love of jazz music. In his teens, he gained valuable ensemble and improvisation experience in the Kent Youth Jazz Orchestra.

As a confused 18-year-old (he couldn’t decide if he wanted to be a musician, a writer, an artist or a rugby player), he completed a foundation course in Art, before reading Music and English at the University of Southampton. Later, he completed a Graduate Diploma in Jazz at Birmingham Conservatoire where he studied saxophone with Julian Siegel and Mike Williams and composition with Hans Koller. The following year he was awarded a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston. His rugby ambitions were all but forgotten.

On returning from the United States, Joe settled in London where he now works as a musician and educator. He has performed at many of London’s concert halls and jazz clubs including the Royal Festival and Queen Elizabeth Halls, Pizza Express Jazz Club, The Vortex and Ronnie Scott’s.

As an educator, he has established a reputation as a prolific workshop leader, specialising in jazz and group composition. He has regularly led workshops for Trinity Laban, The London Philharmonic Orchestra and The Philharmonia.

He is an Associate Educator for the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO), leading their Cumbria, Lancashire, Hull and South East Academies.

Since 2011 he has been the Musical Director of Arts Without Boundaries – a charity delivering music and arts workshops to adults and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, together with their carers and amateur musicians from the local community. He has led similarly inclusive ensembles for Surrey Arts’ award winning UP! Orchestra and Kent Music’s Orchestra ONE.

In 2016 Joe was appointed Musical Director of Deal Music and Arts’ jazz programme, in partnership with NYJO.