COMPOSER

Lapis Trio is an acoustic group featuring the compositions of Chicago based jazz guitarist Casey Nielsen. The music draws on his study of the classical guitar and modern jazz. Lapis Trio’s unique instrumentation of classical guitar (Casey Nielsen) upright bass (Dan Thatcher) and Percussion (Tim Mulvenna) provide a rich, dynamic acoustic setting. Their new album, The Travelers, was released March 2019 on Shifting Paradigm Records. Through The Travelers, Casey  imagines what he might write if his occupation was to perform a composition every evening for the rest of his community upon their return from work. Every piece would need to immediately engage the audience, by being unique and entertaining. The music, like the returning community members, would need to travel in some sense and then come home. And so he traveled, wrote, performed and returned home.

JAZZ

Casey has played and recorded as a jazz bandleader and sideman in various groups throughout the USA. His other projects include the organ trio, Illegal Smile, focusing on arrangements of John Prine’s music.

CLASSICAL

Casey performs solo recitals throughout the Chicago area. He has given solo and chamber music concerts for the North Shore Baptist church, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Baker Memorial Church, the Northbrook Library, the Elgin Library and Geneva's Fabian Park Japanese Garden series.

“Lapis Trio is a refreshing change as those of us in the northern half of the United States move into Springtime.

The charity of the sound and the richness of the compositions plus the delightful musicianship makes the Trio's debut album an aural treat!” -Richard B Kamins, Step Tempest Blog

Illegal Smile Organ Trio

Illegal Smile is a jazz organ trio that re-imagines the music of singer songwriter John Prine. Bandleader and guitarist, Casey Nielsen, has been captivated by Prine’s music since childhood when his parents regularly listened to Prine’s iconic 1971 debut album on family road trips. Though Prine is not a jazz musician, organ and guitar are featured prominently on his recordings and his evocative songs offer an open landscape fertile for new stylistic possibilities. With Illegal Smile, Nielsen inhabits these sonic landscapes, making them his own with new arrangements and improvisations, while paying tribute to the original mood of Prine's recordings that have long captivated his imagination.

Illegal Smile is: Casey Nielsen, Guitar and arranging; Dan Chase, Organ; Lucas Gillan, Drums

Casey Nielsen Guitar Trio

No Frills, no program. Guitar trio’s the perfect configuration for a free flowing session where musicians can call tunes and blow.