Joe Coccia was born in 1920 in Rhode Island, and is best known for the dozens of arrangements and compositions he wrote for Stan Kenton through the 1950s. Coccia was a staff arranger for Kenton from 1943 on, but he transitioned to a career in education in the 1950s. His best known works include Two Shades of Autumn, Desiderata, and Walkin' by the River. In 1957, Coccia worked extensively on the Rendezvous Ballroom Sessions, recorded in California. Though he was working in Rhode Island schools, his arrangements and compositions continued to populate Kenton's recordings. In 2011, the DePaul University Jazz Ensemble recorded previously un-released Coccia arrangements of Flamingo and Midnight Sun. In later years, Coccia served as an educator and administrator in Cranston, Rhode Island schools, and in 2000, the Joseph A. Coccia Library Media Center was dedicated in his honor.