Biography
Throughout the opening four decades of the twentieth century, Joe Grauso took on drumming and percussion duties in virtually every setting where such instruments could appear. Much like the German percussionist Paul Lovens, Grauso possessed training in accounting and bookkeeping—a practical asset amid the financially constrained music industry and, in his own experience, a reliable fallback whenever drumming prospects diminished.
His professional start came in 1914, sharing stages with pianist Frank Signorelli, after which he spent the remainder of the decade performing under circus big tops, within traveling carnivals, and alongside assorted brass bands. In 1918 he assembled his own ensemble, the Happy Five Melody Boys, which held a year-long residency at a Brooklyn cabaret.
Until an illness curtailed his schedule in the late 1930s, Grauso sustained steady work in vaudeville houses, crafting elaborate paradiddles tailored to dancers, comedians, and jugglers. Bookkeeping served simultaneously as rehabilitation and paid labor, offering respite from hauling drum cases and the nocturnal rhythm of revue life. By the early 1940s he resumed active performance as accompanist to pianist Art Hodes and soon organized his own unit for an extended engagement at a Forest Hills, New Jersey, club. During the closing phase of the Second World War he became a regular presence at Nick’s, the storied traditional-jazz room, appearing and recording with Miff Mole, Eddie Condon, Muggsy Spanier, and additional colleagues. In the late 1940s he entered the band led by Billy Butterfield. His son, Robert Grauso, likewise performs on drums.
His professional start came in 1914, sharing stages with pianist Frank Signorelli, after which he spent the remainder of the decade performing under circus big tops, within traveling carnivals, and alongside assorted brass bands. In 1918 he assembled his own ensemble, the Happy Five Melody Boys, which held a year-long residency at a Brooklyn cabaret.
Until an illness curtailed his schedule in the late 1930s, Grauso sustained steady work in vaudeville houses, crafting elaborate paradiddles tailored to dancers, comedians, and jugglers. Bookkeeping served simultaneously as rehabilitation and paid labor, offering respite from hauling drum cases and the nocturnal rhythm of revue life. By the early 1940s he resumed active performance as accompanist to pianist Art Hodes and soon organized his own unit for an extended engagement at a Forest Hills, New Jersey, club. During the closing phase of the Second World War he became a regular presence at Nick’s, the storied traditional-jazz room, appearing and recording with Miff Mole, Eddie Condon, Muggsy Spanier, and additional colleagues. In the late 1940s he entered the band led by Billy Butterfield. His son, Robert Grauso, likewise performs on drums.