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Jazz Articles about Joe Policastro

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Album Review

Kevin Fort: Perspectives

Read "Perspectives" reviewed by Edward Blanco


Pianist and composer Kevin Fort follows his extraordinary debut, Red Gold (CD Baby, 2014), with another tip of the hat to jazz standards and the modern tradition; Perspectives is a musical package nicely filled with new arrangements of six classics and four new originals, performed by a standard piano trio. For more than twenty years an in-demand player in Chicago's talent-rich jazz scene, Fort is also an educator, currently lecturing at the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music.

2
Album Review

Joe Policastro Trio: Nothing Here Belongs

Read "Nothing Here Belongs" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


The Joe Policastro Trio is a working band that has been playing together in Chicago area clubs for almost ten years. This CD reflects that history in how the three musicians play off each others' twists and turns with a near-telepathic rapport. Guitarist Dave Miller darts and swoops with cool assurance while bassist Policastro and drummer Mikel Avery keep the rhythms sounding relaxed and natural even when abruptly switching tempos within songs. The set consists mostly of Policastro ...

6
Album Review

Joe Policastro Trio: Nothing Here Belongs

Read "Nothing Here Belongs" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


Everything belongs here on Nothing Here Belongs, the first Joe Policastro Trio album to focus primarily on original material. The three previous outings from this Chicago-based outfit sold themselves with a pliable approach to covers. On West Side Story Suite (Self Produced, 2013) it was an expansive brush with Bernstein; with Pops! (Self Produced, 2016) the band tackled popular music, from Burt Bacharach to The Pixies; and through Screen Sounds (Jerujazz Records, 2017) the group visited songs of the silver ...

5
Album Review

Joe Policastro Trio: Screen Sounds

Read "Screen Sounds" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


There are always new wrinkles to be found in the familiar. That's a philosophical stance that seems to serve the Joe Policastro Trio well. This Chicago-based outfit's debut album--West Side Story Suite (Self Produced, 2013)--served as a distillation and expansion on Bernstein's masterpiece, turning Broadway on its head; Pops! (Self Produced, 2016) referenced both the venue that served as the band's birthplace and the titular musical strain, presenting newly drafted takes on the music of The Pixies, Neil Young, Stevie ...


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