Album Notes

Their textures are multi-layered and complex and convey a strong sense of melody while interacting as an ensemble. Warm and powerful, wide and round in tone, and tastefully and suspensefully restrained in his timeless schooled lyricism, LoCascio's technique is definitively dramatic and lush. Choosing to temper his velocity in order to ring out the full depth of his tone, the timbre and gravity of his tone is given equal footing with his composition, thus enhancing and sustaining the emotion evoked by his choice of notes. This is the definition of Joe LoCascio's signature sound.

Born and raised in New York, Joe LoCascio has made Houston his permanent home since 1977. He attended the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut where he studied with John Mehegan and Neil Slater. A prolific performer and composer, LoCascio has eight albums as a leader to his credit and has recorded or performed with jazz luminaries such as Chet Baker, Freddie Hubbard, Ernie Watts, Tony Campise, George Mraz, George Coleman and Hank Crawford among others. He is a member of the jazz faculty at Houston Community College where he teaches improvisation and jazz studies and is the author of "The Jazz Piano Handbook".

"LoCascio unravels some rather otherworldly progressions that drape the composition with an extra layer of mystery and intrigue". Keith Zimmerman , Yellow Dog Jazz

"LoCascio's playing on Close To So Far, like his writing (all the tracks are his originals), is heady, clean and crisply swinging, and while he describes his writing and playing as "linear," he's downplaying his strongest quality: texture....gorgeous ballads." Harvy Siders, JazzTimes Magazine

"His technical facility, harmonic sophistication and fluid melodic lines" Paul McArthur, DownBeat Magazine

"Close To So Far"is very satisfying, by an artist who merits being included among the best of his contemporary piano playing peers. Recommended. - Dave Nathan, allmusicguide.com