The Lou Grassi PoBand , organized in 1995 is comprised of "some of the best freestyle improvisors on the scene at the end of the 20^th century . . ." All Music Guide to Jazz.

The Nu Band . . . is a dynamic jazz ensemble featuring some of the most unique, compelling and in-demand voices in creative music today. The band was formed in 1999, and since then has released 10 recordings, completed 9 European tours and several US tours, bringing forward-leaning, provocative and evocative music to the world.
The Nu Band is Joe Fonda on bass, Lou Grassi on drums (both founding members of the group), Thomas Heberer on cornet and Kenny Wessel on guitar.  Each member of the ensemble composes and brings a fresh and individual take on dealing with improvised music, combining structure and freedom. The  group’s artists,  all of whom lead their own groups, play and record with a variety of world-class musicians. The ensemble has found a voice together, collectively expressing years of experience and collaboration.
The band has an illustrious musical lineage and history. Past members of the Nu Band include saxophonist, Mark Whitecage and trumpet player, Roy Campbell. The current edition of the Nu Band retains the core of the group’s concept, while forging ahead musically into the future.  
The Nu Band has performed at The Knitting Factory, The Vision Club Series and The Music Now Festival and The Vision Festival in NYC; The Bop Shop, Rochester, NY; The Chicago Cultural Center; Hallwall’s Contemporary Center for the Arts, Buffalo, NY, The Detroit Art Space, The University of Pittsburgh, The University of Indiana and many other venues throughout the U.S. The Nu Band toured Europe in January 2005, October 2007, January 2009, January 2011, March 2012 and March 2014 thrilling audiences in France, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Poland, Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy and Leichtenstein. They have ten highly acclaimed recordings.

YouTube Links
The Nu Band at the Bop Shop, Rochester, NY 1/20/18
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Kevl-KvvE4&t=851s

The Nu Band in Sarvar, Hungary Jan. 31, 2016 (Part 1) 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqpHScal4HY&t=125s

The Nu Band in Sarvar, Hungary Jan. 31, 2016 (Part 2) 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZpW_HR0HG8

Nu Band in Brussels March 16, 2014

  "Dark Dawn In Aurora" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlChO_UD9T4
  "The Connecticut Solution" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBR03JiJEME

Bios
Reviews
Photos
Live at Michiko, NYC 1/21/22
 

Bios   Reviews      Photos

"The three give us an album that is thoughtful and full of feeling, expressive and dynamic. It is one of those albums that has so much to offer musically that it takes a few listens to fully digest. Highly recommended. A piano trio in full flower, playing an unhindered and inspired set. Check it out."
Grego Edwards Gapplegate Music Review

The trio of Ken Wessel, Ken Filiano and Lou Grassi explores the boundaries between freedom and structure. With a keen sense of musical interplay and open ears, the group reinterprets the standard jazz repertoire (and original music) with a playful and exploring sense, discovering new musical territory with each journey. All leaders and composers in their own right, Ken, Lou and Ken bring that sensibility into their collaboration, each player having a strong voice, but being flexible enough to follow. With their combined experience encompassing straight ahead jazz, free jazz, Indian music, dixieland, tango and classical music, these three musicians negotiate musical intersections, finding exciting and surprising tangents along the way.

Reviews      

Bios

Audio Samples 

 The trio Drunk Butterfly was born out of bassist Adam Lane's strong desire to play with saxophonist Mark Whitecage. The link between both musicians was drummer Lou Grassi, who works and records with both musicians in a number of groups.  What began in the summer of 2006 as a "Let's get together and see what happens" meeting grew into a tight, empathetic unit able to play one another's compositions with inspired assurance.  Portugal's Clean Feed label immediately picked up on the group's unique sound and produced DRUNK BUTTERFLY.

Bios      Reviews      Photos

Martin Speicher, Georg Wolf and Lou Grassi have been playing together since 2003. Their first CD "Shapes and Shadows" on Clean Feed has received rave reviews in the US and Europe. Reviews    Bios    photo

LOU GRASSI's NEO NEO
Ron Horton - trumpet, Tom Varner - French horn, Tomas Ulrich - cello, Lou Grassi - drums
1999
This group recorded its first CD "Neo Neo" CIMP 201
Ron Horton - trumpet, Tom Varner - French horn, Tomas Ulrich - cello, Lou Grassi - drums
1999
This group recorded its first CD "Neo Neo" CIMP 201

Reviews       Audio Samples

Lou Grassi's Avanti Galoppi , as the name implies, is a forward moving group comprised of some of the 21st century's leading exponents of Creative Improvised Music (Herb Robertson, Rob Brown, Ken Filiano, Lou Grassi). Avanti Galoppi has been featured at the Rochester Jazz Festival , Rochester, NY and the Jazz ao Centro Festival , Coimbra, Portugal.
Bios     Reviews      Photos      Audio Samples

Exciting and versatile ensembles of exceptional musicians directed by drummer and arranger Lou Grassi.
The ensembles feature Grassi's arrangements in a program of stylistically diverse music reflecting more than 60 years of the jazz tradition.
These ensembles can present programs with an historical overview of various jazz styles, as well as programs that focus on particular periods or composers.
Available for concerts, lecture-demonstrations, and workshops.
Quartet Photo (JPEG)      Audio Samples

Lou organized the Dixie Peppers in 1984 and since then it has become one of New York's most popular Dixieland ensembles performing frequently in venues as varied as the Bronx Zoo, the Newark Jazz Festival, and Lincoln Center.
In 1986, the group recorded its critically acclaimed cassette album "Hot & Sweet".
Audio Samples