Joe McQueen, the dynamic yet humble jazz saxophonist who made Ogden his home for 75 years starting in the days when musicians like Count Basie and Charlie Parker would play in the northern Utah city’s segregated nightclubs, has died.
“We were definitely very special friends,” Wheeler wrote. “He made me feel like I was a part of his family and promised me before he passed that we would always be connected.”
In a separate Facebook post marking McQueen’s 100th birthday, Wheeler said the musician was “not afraid to tell you what you need to hear, and he’s not afraid to give praise to the Lord for everything in his life and yours.