Joe retreated from public performance in 1981 and did not emerge again until 1991. During this time, he played privately and the evolution of his Gravity compositions for Creative Chamber Ensemble continued. It was again a chance meeting, this time with the internationally known multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee that brought Joe back to performance, and also introduced his music to composer Pauline Oliveros. Ms. Oliveros has commissioned 2 works from Joe and she has performed numerous of his compositions in the last 15 years. A series of residencies, commissions, recordings and international performances have followed.
As an instrumentalist, Joe has performed throughout the US, Canada and Europe, and with artists Pauline Oliveros, Stuart Dempster, The Deep Listening Band, Joe McPhee, Steve Lacy, Carlos Zingaro, Milford Graves, Bill Dixon, Marilyn Crispell, Vinny Golia, Bobby Bradford, Thomas Buckner, and Lori Freedman, among many others, including Lester Lanin and Peg Leg Bates.