The Trilogy explores how jazz honors its roots while speaking authentically to a global, modern audience.
Each album has a signature — blues, cross-genre composition, and the vocal tradition — while sharing a common language shaped by improvisation, storytelling and deep respect for jazz lineage.
The recording process itself became part of the artistic narrative.
De Gregorio documented each chapter in a city deeply connected to the music’s spirit: the historical weight of New York’s jazz legacy, the creative openness of Los Angeles and the lyrical intimacy of Paris. Rather than using a single, fixed ensemble, the collaborators on each album emerged directly from its concept, resulting in three distinct, yet interconnected sonic worlds.
Chapter 1 – “In Blues”
Special Guests: Ron Carter & Peter Erskine
In Blues is a return to the source. Rooted in the blues—not as a genre frozen in time, but as jazz’s most enduring emotional foundation—the album revisits classic blues-based forms alongside original piano variations, treating the blues as both structure and compass. The project’s storytelling begins in one of the most iconic spaces in jazz history: Van Gelder Recording Studio in Englewood, New Jersey. In February 2025, De Gregorio recorded piano and bass there with the legendary Ron Carter, capturing an intimate dialogue between two generations of jazz language in a room where countless masterpieces were born. The rhythm section was made complete on the West Coast: drums were recorded at PUC Studios, Peter Erskine’s home studio in Santa Monica, LA adding a uniquely personal layer to the collaboration. The result is an album that feels both historic and immediate—grounded in tradition, yet alive with spontaneity.
Chapter 2 – “Crossover”
Featuring Peter Erskine, Ike Sturm and Daniele Truocchio + string quartet)
Recorded in LA, Crossover reflects De Gregorio’s fascination with musical permeability. The album dissolves stylistic boundaries, weaving together jazz, funk, Afro-Cuban and Brazilian rhythms, and classical chamber textures. The sessions took place at PUC Studios (Santa Monica, LA) in October 2025, bringing together a core trio of remarkable sensitivity: Joe De Gregorio (piano and vocals), Peter Erskine (drums), and Ike Sturm (bass).
Crossover’s defining feature is the inclusion of a string quartet—not as ornamentation, but as an equal partner—creating a cinematic and deeply melodic reinvention of contemporary jazz, balancing compositional precision with improvisational warmth. The quartet features Gallia Kastner (violin I), Myra Choo (violin II), Rita Andrade (viola), and Caleb Vaughn-Jones (cello), with arrangements and conducting by Daniele Truocchio.
Chapter 3 – “Crooner’s Journey”
Featuring Géraldine Laurent, Louis Moutin & Stéphane Kerecki
Crooner’s Journey shifts the focus to voice, language and song. This international jazz vocal project celebrates the timeless repertoire of popular standards, interpreted through De Gregorio’s dual identity as pianist and vocalist. Recorded in Paris at Bopcity in November 2025, the album captures the intimacy and lyrical sophistication of the European jazz scene. De Gregorio is joined by an exceptional ensemble: Géraldine Laurent (alto saxophone), Louis Moutin (drums), and Stéphane Kerecki (bass), with additional vocal presence by Karine Fôret. Performed in five languages, the album reflects De Gregorio’s cosmopolitan artistic path and his belief in song as a universal connector. Rather than replicating the crooner tradition, these interpretations are conversational, personal and profoundly modern—each arrangement emphasizes storytelling over nostalgia.