Joe Policastro Guitar Trio, August 2020 – Chicago, Illinois

Finding an original pianist who can front a jazz trio and not sound like myriad others is a daunting task. How many jazz pianists have a fresh voice? Well, Reggie Thomas does. His soulful, hard-swinging brand of piano immediately grabs the listener, imparting joy and a positive energy. Ballads? Yes, he also plays those flawlessly and does so in in this outing. Joining Mr. Thomas is a veteran rhythm section with Dennis Carrol on bass and George Fludas on drums. Dennis and George both support and complement Reggie’s piano artistry with excursions of their own. The result is a masterful trio creating exquisite music. The performance was captured with the finest custom (tube) and vintage microphones including a pair of legendary cardiod AKG 414 EB’s on piano, two AKG ULS’s on drums and a single AKG ULS on bass, directly to a highly modified Studer/Revox 8-track master recorder. The result is an audio and musical gem.

Where technology meets art

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Joe Policastro Guitar Trio, August 2020 – Chicago, Illinois

This tape, featuring a guitar trio performance captained by Joe Policastro (acoustic bass) has proven to be very popular indeed here at IPI -- probably because of the superb modern musicianship, the unusual yet wholly listenable musical approach and the startling sound quality captured by the recording. The three musicians here are all on their game, making for a magical moment that only such unified excellence can provide. And although guitar (wonderfully played by Dave Miller) is the “lead” instrument, the contribution of both acoustic bass (Joe Policastro) and drums (the amazing Greg Artry) makes this a superb group outing with no weak link to drag things down. Quite the opposite, as all three musicians propel the proceedings forward with great beauty. Featuring classic standards (“I Feel Pretty”, “Sweet And Lovely”, “Blue Bayou”, etc.) this performance is one of a kind and not to be missed. Engineering by Anthony Gravino of High Cross Sound.