Joseph Francis Marsala (January 4, 1907 – March 4, 1978)[1] was an Italian-American jazz clarinetist and songwriter. His younger brother was trumpeter Marty Marsala and he was married to jazz harpist Adele Girard.
Marsala taught clarinet to Bobby Gordon, the son of Jack Gordon, who worked for RCA Records. Marsala became Gordon's mentor and produced his records for Decca, including "Warm and Sentimental" and "Young Man's Fancy". Arbors Records released Bobby Gordon Plays Joe Marsala, Lower Register in 2007 and The Bobby Gordon Quartet Featuring Adele Girard Marsala, Don't Let It End, which featured Adele's last session for Arbors in 1992.
According to his wife, Marsala suffered from an allergy to nickel and had a rash on his hands from the nickel-plated keys on the clarinet. He was also bothered by colitis and was unable to drink alcohol for a time. Although his younger brother Marty was drafted, Marsala was an unacceptable candidate because of cartilage and ligament tears in his knee. He and his wife entertained stateside for the USO during the war years.