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This dynamic Chicago-based jazz trio seamlessly blends rock, funk, soul, and Brazilian rhythms into its sound.
Inspired by the Robert Frost poem Mending Wall, the Joe Policastro Trio will perform a boundary-defying musical program. This community concert explores the concepts and nature of borders and identity, re-contextualizing songs from Italy and Hong Kong, symphonic themes, movie scores, pop tunes, and even a cowboy song written by Russian classical composer.
Joe Policastro, bass; Dave Miller, guitar, Mikel Avery, drums
This concert is generously supported by the Music Performance Trust Fund (MPTF).
Hailed by Downbeat for its "deft analysis of choice repertoire," and by the Chicago Reader for its "diversity of approaches to all kinds of source material," the JOE POLICASTRO TRIO is a forward-thinking, 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 draws upon a wide array of musical styles and sources while still keeping the aesthetic of an acoustic trio intact.
The band has released seven albums to date: Mending Wall (2025), Ceremony (2023), Sounds Unheard (2022), Nothing Here Belongs (2019), Screen Sounds (2017), POPS! (2016), and West Side Story Suite (2013). Their diverse catalog captures the band's progressive, forward-thinking approach in sonic detail showcasing the band's original music alongside the trio's ability to remake unlikely songs in its own raw, highly idiosyncratic fashion.
"…a cohesive unit with an extraordinarily flexible mindset…at every step of the way, this band breathes and bends as one." (Dan Billawsky, All About Jazz)
"Unpredictable and sometimes eccentric…each listen to Nothing Here Belongs reveals more surprises." (Scott Yanow, JAZZIZ)
"Their deep understanding of each other and deft analysis of choice repertoire repays repeat and close listening." (Michael Jackson, Downbeat)
