Brian Citro

A 2025 City of Chicago Individual Artists Program awardee, guitarist and composer Brian Citro has been playing and writing music for 35 years. He studied with renowned guitarist Fareed Haque and is a long-time member of The Drastics. He’s performed and toured with JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound, Ted Sirota’s Heavyweight Dub!, Ackah Blay in Ghana, and many others.

Brian’s new album Keep Moving (Home), on Calligram Records, features his “lyrical yet modern guitar playing” (Fareed Haque) on 14 original compositions performed by his jazz quartet, with Nick Mazzarella on saxophones, Quin Kirchner on drums, and Matt Ulery on bass. Recorded to tape by engineer Dave Vettraino at Chicago’s Palisade Studio, the album presents an “emotionally resonant … convergence of composition, performance, sound, and visual presentation” (Paris Move). The music flows from Brian’s experiences as a musician and human rights lawyer living in India and traveling in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Brian’s previous album, Acoustic Pastime on ears&eyes Records, features solo guitar arrangements of his compositions and Thelonious Monk tunes. Brian also leads an organ trio with Tom Vaitsas on organ and Peter Mack on drums, and he co-leads The Hey Lows with multi-instrumentalist and producer Lance Loiselle.