Big Band musician Joe Kohn dies at 93

Longtime Big Band musician and former local newspaper publisher Joe Kohn passed away on Monday, Sept. 7 in Long Beach. He was 93.

Kohn had a long history performing under the stage name Joe Kane and led the Joe Kane Orchestra for more than 60 years. He routinely performed as part of the City of Long Beach’s summer concert series and played with countless jazz legends over the years. His son, Michael Kohn, said that his father had a great love of Big Band music and the swing era and would sneak history lessons about the genre into his performances over the years.

He was also known around Long Beach for his community involvement, Michael said, and in 1976 purchased the Independent Voice, a weekly community newspaper, and served as its publisher until he sold the publication to a local chain in 1989. The paper was active during the key period in the 1980s, when local officials fought to revitalize Long Beach, and Michael said that his father, a progressive, supported both Republicans and Democrats at the time.

“He just really loved to share the things he was passionate about — whether music or politics — with as many people as possible,” Michael said. “He loved what he loved.”

Over the years, Kohn performed with jazz legends such as trumpeters Roy Eldridge and Buck Clayton, and pianists Marian McPartland and Marty Napoleon. They would often perform at weddings, bar mitzvahs, presidential inaugurations and local political events.

Born in Brooklyn, Kohn first visited Long Beach on a family trip as a child. His musical career began in the 1940s with an 11-year extended engagement featuring his own big band at Laurels Country Club in the Catskill Mountains, where he met his wife, Terry. His orchestra played dance music and shows, accompanying celebrities such as Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, Steve Lawrence and Edie Gorme, Red Buttons, Allan King and Buddy Hackett.

After returning to Long Beach in the late ’50s, he performed across the barrier island with his show band for five years at the Shelborne Beach Club and two years at the Colony Beach Club, both in Lido Beach.