Trio Bien

Trio Bien performs their own original compositions and is a collaboration between pianist/composer - Jeff Kier, bassist/composer - Edo Castro-Woodhouse, and drummer - Lanny Grilly

Lanny Grilly - Drummer/Producer (grillyproductions.com)

Lanny has a long history in Jazz, and started playing drums professionally with his father. Pianist Russ Holliday, while attending the University Of Illinois with a B.A. in Mass Communications.

Lanny also owned, managed, and was audio engineer at Orchestra Hall Recording Studio & Logan Square Recording studio for over 20 years. He produced CD's for Chicago Symphony musicians, as well as major Jazz musicians

Besides Trio Bien, Lanny has headed various groups over the years -(The Grilly Brothers Sextet, The Rio Brothers Nontet, Abril, The Sonic Poets and has performed with Willie Pickens, Mose Allison, Chuck Webb, Judy Roberts, Laury Shelly, Kim Martell, Michael Arnopol, Nick Drozdoff, Fareed Haque, Henry Johnson, Robert Goulet, Hoagie Carmichael, and many, many others.

Along with new Trio Bien project, Lanny also produces and plays drums for his "Tribute To Dave Brubeck & Chick Corea"" which has performed at renowned venues such as The Epiphany Center For The Arts, Evanston's S.P.A.C.E. Hey Nonny, and The Jazz Showcase - with featured performers Leandro Lopez Varady, Rafe Bradford, and Peter Roothaan. The show also features commentary by Russell Gloyd, who was Deve Brubeck's producer, orchestrator, and conductor for 40+ years

Additionally, He's played at numerous Jazz Festivals - Chicago Jazz Fest (several times), The Jazz Showcase, and venues throughout the country from San Francisco (The Lion's Share, Las Vegas (Desert Inn), New York (Smalls), Maui, and internationally in Rome, Paris, Tel Aviv, Negril Jamaica, Havana Cuba, Amsterdam, and Tangier Morocco.

Video Channel: Lanny Grilly You Tube Channel

Grilly Productions Facebook_______________________________________________________________

JEFF KIER -Pianist/Composer

Graduated from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana with a B.A. in

About Jeff Kier's jazz compositions. Mark Stevens, a San Francisco DJ, commented, "Jeff was emerging as one of the great composers of our time." Their last CD, "Goin' Places!” by Jeff Kier & The Grilly Brothers, on the BluJazz label, was Grammy Recognized, with liner notes by noted Jazz Author, journalist, and Grammy Winner (2016), Neil Tesser.

Jeff leads his own groups and has performed at many Jazz Venues in Chicago & The Midwest: Jazz Showcase, Night Town in Cleveland, Cairo, Oz, and his works have been orchestrated in the Concerto Grosso format and played with Midwest Orchestras & Big Band versions performed with Universities such as The University Of Wisconsin Big Band.

Jeff also served as the Musical Director for the premier improv venue “The Comedy Shrine” for over 10 years.

EDO CASTRO-WOODHOUSE - 7 String Bassist/Composer

Edo Castro worked with both Jeff Kier and Lanny Grilly's groups in the late 1980's while working on his B.A. in Jazz Studies from DePaul University and finishing at The American Conservatory of Music.

By the time Edo graduated from the Conservatory, magazine had noted him as “One of Chicago’s finest.” He continued to hone his craft in Chicago until 1990 when he returned to the Bay Area.

Since his return to the Bay Area in 1990, Edo has worked on 20 CD projects and has performed/recorded with David Amram, Mark Walker, Hassan Kahn, Pete Cosey, Roy Haynes, Fareed Haque, David Onderdonk, Ed Thigpen, Johnny Griffin, Joel Harrison, Jim Trompeter, Ian Doogle, Deborah Winters, Jill Knight, Paul Van Wageningen, Caroline Aiken, Dan Zinn, Bethany Pickens, Michael LaMacchia, Armando Peraza, Caren Armstrong, Percy Howard, Mike Molenda, Stuart Hamm, Lorn Leber, Michael Manring, Mark Egan, Yves Carbonne, and David Friesen.

Edo returned to the Chicago area in 2022 and reunited with Jeff Kier, and Lanny Grilly to form "Trio Bien."

Edo's fan base stretches the globe (with sales in Norway, Switzerland, Germany, France, Japan, Spain, Argentina, Italy and England) where he has found praise and recognition for his unique musical talents and his joyous and transfixing compositions, and recognized internationally for his rare proficiency on several varieties of the extended-range bass. Edo is an endorser of Conklin Basses, Bee Basses and AccuGroove Cabinets,

Edo is also a published author of his compositions, which can be found on Amazon:

Compositions for Small Ensemble by Edo Castro

Edo Castro Wikipedia

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Jazz Showcase, 806 South Plymouth Ct, Chicago, United States