Mario Castro

The Mario Castro Quintet is one of the brightest and up and coming jazz groups of today. The group is lead by Mario Castro, a 2011 Berklee College of Music graduate from Humacao, Puerto Rico. At 24, Castro is already an accomplished musician and has led his group, to many legendary stages including: Newport Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, the Fillmore in SF, Sevilla Jazz Festival (SPAIN), among others. He also held a residency at Wally's Jazz Club in Boston, the historical landmark frequented by many great musicians. Castro currently lives in NYC.

Mario Castro will be debuting his “quintet + STRINGS” project. They will be performing a selection of original music written by Castro and his band. The band consisting of: Mario Castro on saxophone, Josh Shpak on trumpet and flugelhorn, Tamir Shmerling on bass, KyuMin Shim on piano and rising star drummer Jonathan Pinson.

Mario Castro’s debut quintet album; “primavera”(2012) was released under Greg Osby’s record label Inner Circle Music. - See more at:

Album Reviews

Estrella De Mar by James Nadal

August 02, 2011

Berklee's Mario Castro Quintet performs at the Newport Jazz Festival

“On this recording Mario Castro shows all sides of his talents… arranging and composing along with the actual playing; a gorgeous sound on the tenor and most of all , leadership and passion. ”

-Dave Liebman

“Tenor saxophonist Mario Castro is one to watch for the ages. He offers a music that is brimming with color, vitality, and a broad vision He is a welcome change of pace and is poised to make a difference.”

-Greg Osby