Joseph Panella has been performing (upright bass and electric bass) professionally for over a decade, along with full-time touring and recording with the Nashville-based Annie Moses Band from 2013 to 2015 after receiving his B.A. at the University of Southern Mississippi in Jazz Performance.
Joseph grew up as the son of a jazz saxophonist who had uprooted from Chicago to build up a jazz program in the heart of South Mississippi. Shortly after taking up the bass, Joseph heard Jaco Pastorius, who was a gateway into Bebop, Swing, and Modern Jazz. Naturally, because of close proximity to New Orleans and Josephs’ family upbringing, jazz was central to his musical experience. However, Mississippi itself is a historical cradle for blues, rock ’n roll, country, gospel, and funk. It also has a high concentration of South American and Caribbean culture because of the Universities and ports on the Gulf of Mexico. This environment, plus years of classical training, led to a deep appreciation for many kinds of music.
Currently, Panella resides in the Greater Kansas City Area, performing as a freelance bassist and teaching as a bass instructor at The Culture House School of Music in Olathe, KS and out of his house in Raytown, MO (easy access from Blue Springs, Independence, Grandview, Lee’s Summit, and Kansas City, MO).