Home » Search Center » Results: Joe Policastro
Results for "Joe Policastro"
Joe Policastro Trio: Screen Sounds

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 ...
Guitars Galore: Major Vistas, Joe Policastro Trio, Dan Arcamone, Charlie Ballantine, Sound Underground, & Kay-Ta Matsuno

by Mark Sullivan
A brief overview of several notable 2016 contemporary jazz releases featuring guitarists. Major Vistas Minor Anthems Self Produced 2016 A fresh approach to the jazz trio, and the debut release from Madison, Wisconsin's Major Vistas. Keyboardist Mike Weiser says he thinks of it as a modern organ" ...
Bob Lark and His Alumni Big Band: Sweet Return

by Jack Bowers
As was the case two years ago (2012) with its first album, Reunion, trumpeter Bob Lark's Alumni Big Band on Sweet Return is comprised of musicians he has supervised in various groups during a long and eminent career that embodies more than twenty years as director of Jazz Studies at DePaul University in Chicago. Even so, ...
In Tune or Not in Tune... That Is the Question

by Jack Bowers
Suppose a month goes by, you have a column to publish, but nothing has happened that's worth writing about. What do you do then? Read on, as the question is about to be answered. A while back there was a discussion at a Stan Kenton web site (Kentonia) about musicians or groups of ...
"Lone Wolf" Finds Plenty to Chew On

by Jack Bowers
With Betty sidelined by a bad cough, it was up to me to seek out local jazz events in February, and I managed to find a couple of pretty good ones, starting February 7 at the University of New Mexico's Keller Hall where SuperSax New Mexico performed for the third time in Albuquerque. As you may ...
Petra's Recession Seven: Live In Chicago

by Jack Huntley
Petra van Nuis' voice is at once alluring and robust. Her tone alternates between delicate playfulness and declarative strength, perfectly suiting the combination of hot jazz and standards on Live In Chicago, an enchanting portrait of her band, Petra's Recession Seven. And oh, what a band it is--capable of captivating backing as well as exciting soloing.
Bob Lark and his Alumni Big Band: Reunion

by Edward Blanco
Veteran jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn master Dr. Bob Lark has directed many big bands in more than 20 years as Director of Jazz Studies at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. With Reunion, Lark reunites 22 musicians from those bands as his Alumni Big Band, debuting the group on a monster collection of powerful orchestrations. While the ...