Joe Lovano
Joe Lovano is fearless in finding new modes of artistic expression. Over his career, the Cleveland, Ohio-born and Grammy-winning saxophonist and composer has released over 25 recordings as a leader and has steadily performed in multiple prominent contexts as a prolific sideman.
The saxophonist has appeared on a number of ECM recordings over the last four decades, including much-loved albums with Paul Motian, Steve Kuhn and John Abercrombie. 2019’s Trio Tapestry was his first as a leader for the label, introducing a wonderful new group and music of flowing lyricism, delicate texture, and inspired interplay with pianist Marilyn Crispell and drummer Carmen Castaldi. Lovano: “We play together like an orchestra, creating an amazing tapestry. I brought in the material, but there’s an equal weight of contribution, creating music within the music, and harmonizing it in a really special way.”
[...]Joe Lovano is fearless in finding new modes of artistic expression. Over his career, the Cleveland, Ohio-born and Grammy-winning saxophonist and composer has released over 25 recordings as a leader and has steadily performed in multiple prominent contexts as a prolific sideman.
The saxophonist has appeared on a number of ECM recordings over the last four decades, including much-loved albums with Paul Motian, Steve Kuhn and John Abercrombie. 2019’s Trio Tapestry was his first as a leader for the label, introducing a wonderful new group and music of flowing lyricism, delicate texture, and inspired interplay with pianist Marilyn Crispell and drummer Carmen Castaldi. Lovano: “We play together like an orchestra, creating an amazing tapestry. I brought in the material, but there’s an equal weight of contribution, creating music within the music, and harmonizing it in a really special way.”
Garden of Expression, the trio’s second album garnered much praise from the press, leading the New Yorker to say that “Joe Lovano can turn on the juice, blowing hard and strong, whenever necessary. His credentials as a full-blooded jazz swinger and an unfettered free improviser are perfectly in order. His most satisfying work, though, may be on display when he cools his jets and allows his gentle side to come to the fore. (…) Lovano can render a memorable musical phrase into a poem, and his selfless cohorts are equally attuned to the vitality of restraint. ”
Trio Tapestry’s third album Our Daily Bread brought the group’s sound to new heights again. Glide Magazine opined that Joe “clearly found a rich oasis with this trio and for those who crave this highly pensive sound, ‘Our Daily Bread’ is the most cohesive of these soothing, rich, ambient Trio Tapestry offerings…”
In parallel to his tapestry endeavours, Lovano has been fostering a rich relationship with another ECM mainstay in Marcin Wasilewski – “an ethereal, tonally luxurious meeting of hearts and minds” (The Guardian). With the pianist’s trio, Joe presented Arctic Riff in 2020. According to BBC Magazine, “this set of mostly originals exploits a compare-and-contrast approach to excellent effect while making the best possible use of Lovano’s gracefully omnivorous style”.
The quartet’s follow-up, 2025’s Homage, is structurally looser, more in line with Joe’s trio tapestry ventures, as the group investigates lyrical, free-flowing interplay combined with expansive passages of improvisation. The French mag Jazz Magazine has called the album “a true masterpiece”, while The Guardian observed the “jazz giant and freethinking trio harmoniously intertwine. Backed by pianist Marcin Wasilewski’s group, the US sax elder plays freely around a song-rooted approach, resulting in sparkling, spontaneous exchanges.”
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| YEAR | DATE | Artist | VENUE | LOCATION | |
| 2026 | April 28 | Joe Lovano | Village Vanguard | New York NY, United States | |
| 2026 | April 29 | Joe Lovano | Village Vanguard | New York NY, United States | |
| 2026 | April 30 | Joe Lovano | Village Vanguard | New York NY, United States | |
| 2026 | May 01 | Joe Lovano | Village Vanguard | New York NY, United States | |
| 2026 | May 02 | Joe Lovano | Village Vanguard | New York NY, United States | |
| 2026 | May 03 | Joe Lovano | Village Vanguard | New York NY, United States | |
| 2026 | May 16 | Joe Lovano | Hollywood ArtsPark | Hollywood FL, United States | |
| 2026 | May 30 |
Trio Tapestry w/ Joe Lovano, Marilyn Crispell, Carmen Castaldi
"Our Daily Bread" |
Jersey City Jazz Festival | Jersey City NJ, United States | |
| 2026 | June 19 | Joe Lovano | Rochester Jazz Festival | Rochester NY, United States | |
| 2026 | July 23 | Paramount Quartet w/Joe Lovano/ Julian Lage/ Santi Debriano/ Will Calhoun | Jazzaldia Festival | San Sebastian, Spain | Event |
| 2026 | July 26 | Paramount Quartet w/Joe Lovano/ Julian Lage/ Santi Debriano/ Will Calhoun | Dinant Jazz | Dinant, Belgium |