Joe Policastro Trio

The JOE POLICASTRO TRIO is a Chicago-based jazz trio led by bassist Joe Policastro featuring guitarist Dave Miller and drummer Mikel Avery.  While firmly rooted in jazz, the band's open-minded, inclusive nature also brings rock, soul, funk, Brazilian, and free jazz to the surface while keeping the aesthetic of an acoustic jazz trio intact.  Their third album, Screen Sounds (JeruJazz Records), is an assemblage of movie/TV music re-imagined by the trio.  Other releases by the band include 2013's West Side Story Suite For Jazz Trio, and 2016's POPS!, also on JeruJazz Records.

Bands are a rarity in jazz these days, especially ones who hone their craft as consistently as this one does. Their last album, POPS! (2016), was a collection of the trio’s re-workings of “pop” tunes, and a nod to Pops For Champagne, the famed Chicago nightclub where the trio continues its long-running, three-nights-a-week residency. Beyond Chicago, the band has been extensively playing together on the road having completed several tours even performing for President Barack Obama in October of 2016.

Known for its eclectic taste and approach, the Joe Policastro Trio “makes the case that such musical hybridity is worth celebrating.”  “Policastro…is a melody-minded bassist who prioritizes group cohesion over individual displays of virtuosity.”  (Brian Zimmerman, Downbeat)

The Joe Policastro Trio is a band that can turn “pop tart into Jazz art” (Travis Rogers, Jazz Owl) and one that “should have wide appeal among both jazz fans and listeners of other genres.” (Hrayr Attarian, Chicago Jazz Magazine)

"Screen Sounds" features the singular approach of the Chicago-based jazz trio on a unique assemblage of music from movies and TV.  The album features music from films such as Yojimbo, The Godfather, Blade Runner, Midnight Cowboy, and TV shows such as Taxi, The Young and the Restless, and Twin Peaks.  Both a musical tapestry and personal soundtrack, the trio has re-purposed these selections blending each member's unique voice into a unified sound while shedding new light on these musical touchstones.

“The group’s terrific new album, Screen Sounds, applies a diversity of approaches to all kinds of source material, consistently retaining the essence of the original works while boldly imprinting the trio’s personality.” (Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader)

“There are always new wrinkles to be found in the familiar.  That’s a political stance that seems to serve the Joe Policastro Trio well…putting alternately gritty and focused touches on songs we’ve come to love….Policastro and company have found their niche tapping into different breeds of treasured songs.” (Dan Billawsky, All About Jazz)

Chicago bassist JOE POLICASTRO grew up in the fertile jazz, classical, and popular music scene of Cincinnati, OH. After performing and recording in Germany, he relocated to Chicago where he quickly established himself an in-demand bassist and arranger/composer. He has performed and recorded with a wide array of artists such as Diane Schuur, Jeff Hamilton, Howard Levy, Phil Woods, Pat and Debby Boone, Tim Ries, Ira Sullivan, Howard Alden, Rick Margitza, Jim Snidero, David "Fathead" Newman, and Billy Hart. Also active as a composer and arranger, his work can be heard on recordings by numerous artists including Ira Sullivan and the Rob Parton Big Band. He leads and co-leads the Gerry Mulligan tribute ensembles, Jeru, and the Mulligan Mosaics Big Band, both for which he has extensively written and arranged. As an educator, he has been a Ravinia Jazz Mentor, a Lecturer of Jazz Studies at DePaul University, a bass instructor at Morton College and the Chicago Academy for the Arts, and he is currently a jazz director at the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory.