About this Event

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. _Mending Wall_ is the seventh album by the the trio. Through highly personal readings of music from Italy and Hong Kong, movie scores and symphonic themes, pop tunes, and even a cowboy song written by a Russian classical composer, the trio explores the nature of identity, boundaries, and borders. Their diverse catalog - _Ceremony_(2023), _Sounds Unheard_(2022), _Nothing Here Belongs_ (2019), _Screen Sounds_ (2017), _POPS!_ (2016), and _West Side Story Suite_ (2013) - captures the band’s progressive, forward-thinking, non-hierarchical approach whether showcasing their original music or their ability to remake unlikely songs in a characteristically raw, idiosyncratic fashion. True bands are a rarity in jazz these days, especially ones hone their craft as consistently as this one does. The band held court thrice-weekly at Pops for Champagne in downtown Chicago for over a decade. Beyond Chicago, the trio has been extensively playing together at clubs and festivals throughout the US and Canada having even performed for President Barack Obama. “…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…reveals more surprises.” (Scott Yanow, _JAZZIZ)_ “The trio have refined their layered blend of the familiar and faintly far out, playing three nights a week at Chicago’s Pops For Champagne and through extensive roadwork. Their deep understanding of each other and deft analysis of choice repertoire repays repeat and close listening.” (Michael Jackson, _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_)