Joe Kennedy Jr. (1923 – April 17, 2004) was an American jazz violinist and educator. Kennedy was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He performed and recorded with pianist Ahmad Jamal and was director of jazz studies at Virginia Tech from 1984 to 1995. Kennedy performed with Benny Carter, Toots Thielemans, Billy Taylor, and the Modern Jazz Quartet and appeared at major international jazz festivals including the North Sea Jazz Festival and Monterey Jazz Festival.