Joseph M. Cristina was born in New York City on May 9, 1959. Joe came from a home that was filled with music. From his father, he learned about Italian opera, big band music, and standards sung by the "great Italian boy singers", Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Jerry Vale. From his brother, he came to know and love Brazilian music performed by artists such as Astrud Gilberto and Sergio Mendes' Brasil 66. His first practical musical experience was a "take-down" of a recorder solo from a Jefferson Airplane album. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Catholic Church music had always been very appealing to Joe. The otherworldly sounds of church modes, the organ, and the choral aspects of the liturgy spoke to Joe and sparked his awareness of these very traditional forms. Finally, there was the music of the streets. Many luminaries of the Latin jazz world performed at block parties in his Bronx neighborhood - all in all, a great place for a musician to grow up.
Joe's family moved to southern California in 1973. He was fortunate to attend a high school that had a fine music program. Joe immersed himself in concert band, orchestra, and the jazz ensemble. He continued his studies at California State University at Fullerton majoring in trombone performance. There he studied with Ken Foberg, an LA studio musician and Jeff Reynolds, bass trombonist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. At this time, Joe was playing music professionally in wide range of ensembles - horn bands, brass quintets, and big bands. He transcribed and created arrangements for these groups.
To further hone his craft, he enrolled in the Composition and Arranging Program at Dick Grove School of Music in Studio City, CA. Throughout the '80s and '90s, Joe continued his work as a trombonist and arranger backing up live acts, recording as a session musician, and performing on concert stages throughout Los Angeles and Orange County. "The range of assignments was truly remarkable" Joe recalls. "One day I'd be doing a major label recording for pop star Stacey Q, and the next morning I'd be playing trombone on Poulenc's Gloria". During this time he transcribed and arranged TV "sound-alikes" for MTM Productions, arranged the responses of the Mass for brass quintet, choir and organ, and received his first commission - to compose music for Chapman University's dance department's entry in the American College Dance Festival.
Joe has always had a deep love for Latin music. He explored it further during his studies with Charles Otwell, musical director and pianist for Poncho Sanchez. In 1992, Joe formed the group Simpatico with saxophonist and longtime friend Victor Cajiao. Simpatico enjoyed a large following, and "Resolve" (1995), garnered consistent airplay on local radio. "It was a real kick driving to a gig, listening to KSBR, and hearing my tune, "Gina", followed by an Al Jarreau song."
Joe then decided to shift his primary focus to composing and arranging. Through his association with Film Music Network in Los Angeles, CA, he attended Orchestration for Film and Television classes and was invited to present music for the Orchestration Master Class. Joe continues to study orchestration with Ira Hearshen, one of LA's top orchestrators and arrangers, an experience that Joe describes as "invaluable, exhilarating, and humbling." It was Ira who referred Joe to composer/ bassist Stanley Clarke, giving Joe the opportunity to provide transcriptions and arrangements for Clarke's touring ensemble.
He is currently preparing orchestral arrangements for publication. He is currently composing a large-scale work for orchestra based on Dante's "Divine Comedy" and a piece for soprano voice and orchestra, "Belgrano Elegy."
Joe has also been asked to provide transcriptions and prepare arrangements for the 2008 reunion tour of the fusion supergroup Return to Forever.
