Joe Policastro
Double Bass

Press

Downbeat Policastro…is a melody-minded bassist who prioritizes group cohesion over individual displays of virtuosity. His solo on The Pixies' "Wave Of Mutilation" best exemplifies his improvisational style, which bears the mark of solid, unadorned craftsmanship. Brian Zimmerman, Downbeat, July 2016

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Before there was the Great American Songbook, there were simply great American songs. The tunes we now identify as jazz standards—so many of them composed by just a handful of scribes working from cramped offices on Tin Pan Alley—weren't written with that lofty songbook in mind, but were instead created as popular songs, fodder for Broadway productions and Hollywood films from the 1920s and '30s. Popular song continues to enrich the jazz canon, and on his latest disc, Pops, Chicago bassist Joe Policastro makes the case that such musical hybridity is worth celebrating. In doing so, Policastro and his trio with guitarist Dave Miller and drummer Mikel Avery join a growing assembly of artists who embrace pop experimentalism, including keyboardist Robert Glasper, whose 2015 album Covered (Blue Note) featured songs by Kendrick Lamar and John Legend, and vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, whose latest release, For One To Love (Mack Avenue), featured a dapper interpretation of Burt Bacharach's "Wives And Lovers." The Bacharach staple also makes an appearance on Policastro's album, opening the program of 11 tunes with all the spunk and steamy intimacy of a mid-century cocktail party. (This is fitting, as the song is the album's sole composition from the 1960s.) But it's the subsequent decade—with its overtones of disco and funk—that contributes the bulk of the material to this disc. The trio spins Stevie Wonder's "Creepin'," (1974) into a sweet and breezy jazz bossa, and later injects The Bee Gees' "More Than A Woman" (1977) with a shot of crisp, bracing energy, courtesy of guest guitarist Andy Brown's sweeping lines. Elsewhere, the group unwinds Billy Paul's "Me And Mrs. Jones" into a silken ballad and recasts Pink Floyd's "Us And Them" as a spacey jazz-rock investigation. Policastro, co-leader of the Gerry Mulligan tribute bands Jeru and the Mulligan Mosaic Big Band/Nonet, is a melody-minded bassist who prioritizes group cohesion over individual displays of virtuosity. His solo on The Pixies' "Wave Of Mutilation" best exemplifies his improvisational style, which bears the mark of solid, unadorned craftsmanship. The song, repainted with dark, nuanced colors, joins Prince's "Condition Of The Heart" (part of a touching two-track homage to the late guitar maestro) and The Cars' "Drive" as the album's representatives from the 1980s. More recent fare includes a calm, understated cover of Tom Waits' "Take It With Me" (1999) and a version of Neil Young's "Harvest Moon" (1991) reconfigured as—what else—a Western swing tune.

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This is … one of those pop goes jazz sets that opens the ears nicely. Everyone on board is right on point letting the world know once again that Chicago jazz is alive and well. Chris Spector, Midwest Record, June 11, 2016

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Pops!, by the Joe Policastro Trio, is not only a new CD, but also represents a possible new movement in jazz… Joe and his group … play everything with conviction and sincerity as they try to bring out new qualities in this collection of well-known pop and rock songs. John Sanders, Jazz Music Archives, June 15, 2016

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…engaging inventive music Michael Steinman, Jazz Lives, June 18, 2016

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Policastro’s bass seems to be the glue that holds this trio solidly in place. Dee Dee McNeil, Musical Memoirs, June 25, 2016

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Wonderfully cool renditions of compositions by Burt Bacharach, Stevie Wonder, Neil Young, Tom Waits and Pink Floyd… A very steady work of musicianship. The Jazz Page by D. Glenn Daniels, July 1, 2016

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Policastro and his crew make a strong argument for all of these songs as jazz vehicles, and they have a ton of fun in the process. You will, too. Rick Anderson, CD Hotlist, July 4, 2016

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Pops is an album that demonstrates the depth of well chosen modern pop tunes that lend themselves well to jazz improvisation, in an acoustic straight ahead setting... Joe Policastro’s trio is well honed from their long time live show, and since they thrive on pop tunes, it’s a bright indication of the road ahead. CJ Shearn, Jazz Views, July 6, 2016

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This suave and enjoyable album should have wide appeal among both jazz fans and listeners of other genres. Hrayr Attarian, Chicago Jazz Magazine, July 8, 2016

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Relaxed playing by skilled instrumentalists who blend with seemingly effortless ease. Bruce Crowther, Jazz Mostly, July 10, 2016

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[Policastro] provides a powerful, steady, foundation for the group. His arco work is beautifully ‘in tune’ when he gets the opportunity to state melodies or improvise solos - that’s not an easy thing to achieve! Dave Brownlow, Bebop Spoken Here, July 13, 2016

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…pure joy to listen to... [they] always come up with interesting and rejuvenating twists and turns. Matthias Kirsch, Gina Loves Jazz, August 8, 2016

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There are some truly outstanding gems in these heartfelt covers that go above and beyond the usual worship. Carol Banks Weber, AXS, August 17, 2016

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There are some truly outstanding gems in these heartfelt covers that go above and beyond the usual worship. Carol Banks Weber, AXS, August 17, 2016

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Additional Reading

The Joe Policastro Trio Releases "POPS!" by Valery Amador, June 27, 2016

All About Jazz by Mark Sullivan, July 25, 2016

Jazzweekly by George Harris, September 20, 2016

CJ Shearn's Best of 2016 at Jazz Views, December 9, 2016

Michael Doherty’s Music Log, December 12, 2016