Furio Di Castri was born in Milan on September 12, 1955, started on trumpet at 11, and switched to electric bass at 13. Self-taught, he began in rhythm and blues and progressive rock bands, cutting his first record with Dedalus in 1973 before moving to double bass. In 1978 he relocated to Rome, playing with saxophonists Maurizio Giammarco and Massimo Urbani, and met Chet Baker there, an on-and-off playing partnership that ran from 1988 onward.

In February 1981 he joined Enrico Rava's band alongside Franco D'Andrea and Aldo Romano, both already profiled on jazzprofiles.com, and a few months later became the bassist in pianist Michel Petrucciani's first working trio. He has also recorded with Dino Saluzzi, Dave Liebman, Ray Anderson, and Albert Mangelsdorff, and appears alongside Rita Marcotulli and Paolo Fresu, both already profiled here.

His discography runs past 200 total album credits, 20 as leader, and he has toured across Europe, the Americas, and as far afield as Senegal, China, Japan, and Korea. Since 1990 he has taught double bass and ensemble at the Siena Jazz Foundation, and now directs the Jazz Department at the Conservatory of Turin, teaching jazz composition and double bass.

Di Castri's playing spans post-bop, free improvisation, and Chet Baker-adjacent lyricism, shaped by his early years alongside Enrico Rava and Michel Petrucciani and his ongoing engagement with the Paul Bley circle of pianists and improvisers.