Joseph Frederick Brent (born April 6, 1976) is an American composer, mandolinist, multi-instrumentalist,[1] and teacher.

[5] Brent attended the Berklee College of Music, and studied the mandolin under Carlo Aonzo in Savona, Italy.

[8] In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Brent is active as a sideman in several rock, jazz, bluegrass,[9] and folk ensembles, most notably with Regina Spektor,[10] Jewel, Kishi Bashi,[11] Gary Smulyan,[12] and various artists centered on the Brooklyn folk music scene.

[19][20] On October 16, 2015, Brent's improvising ensemble 9 Horses, featuring violinist Sara Caswell and bassist Shawn Conley released their debut album Perfectest Herald on Sunnyside Records,[21] and in 2016 were the winners of the 21CM LAUNCH: Emerging Artists Competition.

[24] In 2008, Brent collaborated with Nova Scotia-based luthier Brian Dean to design a grand concert mandolin he named 'Pähkinä', which is Finnish for 'nut', a reference to the walnut top of the instrument.