Following high school, Joe went to Sir George Williams College in Montreal and then to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA.

In his youth he studied piano with Daisy Peterson Sweeney, Professor Boyce, and Bob Langlois in Montreal; later he was pupil of Darwyn Aitken in Toronto. Sealy began his career during the late 1950s in jazz groups and/or show bands with René Thomas, Vernon Isaac, Benny Winestone, Walter Bacon, and others throughout Quebec.

Moving in 1967 to Halifax, he served as music director or consultant for several CBC TV series ('Music Hop' 1967-9, 'Roundabout,' 'Student Showcase,' etc), played organ in the Unusuals (an R&B trio with Charles 'Bucky' Adams, tenor saxophone; Chuck Cornish, French horn, drums and vocals), and was a pianist in local studio orchestras and hotel lounges. Here he met and married Judi Cooper in 1972.

In 1976 Sealy went to Toronto where he has worked extended engagements in jazz rooms and lounges (eg, intermittently 1980-3 at Errol's) and served as musical director for a succession of musicals through the 1980s, including Spring Thaw, Indigo, Ain't Misbehavin', More Sweet Reason, One More Stop, Madame Gertrude and Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, taking acting roles in several.

Sealy is highly regarded for his “Africville” suite, a tribute to Canada's oldest black community. He is a direct descendent of a family that settled in Africville, a suburb of Halifax that was bulldozed years ago by the city's government after they expropriated the land. “Africville” is Joe's attempt to capture the vibrancy and life of a little known piece of Canada's history.

Joe is an enormously talented jazz pianist who has enjoyed success across the globe. Sealy has played with artists such as Sammy Davis Jr., Joe Williams, Milt Jackson, “Blood Sweat and Tears”, and appeared three times on the Canadian comedy series “SCTV”. In 1997 he performed on a national tour of Timothy Findley's “Piano Man's Daughter”. Sealy and three other musicians make up the Joe Sealy Quartet, his travelling band that appears all over the country, and various European countries including Denmark, Norway, Portugal and Bermuda. They have also appeared on the “Vicki Gabareau show.”

Sealy's awards include a Juno he won in 1997 for his “Africville” suite, and a Dora Mavor Moore award for his musical direction in the Toronto production of “Ain't Misbehavin'”. Sealy has also been nominated for a Gemini award for a musical score he wrote for the documentary film “The Road Taken”. He has been featured on the Bravo series “Jazz Man”, and in an episode of Adrienne Clarkson Presents entitled “The Spirit of Africville”.

Joe is currently host of the weekly radio shows “Joe Sealy's Duets” on JAZZ. FM91

Joe is married to Judi Cooper-Sealy and lives in Toronto, Ontario. They have 3 children, 5 grandchildren and 4 step-grandchildren.