Continuing the High Standard
— Dan Costa’s name circulates already for quite a while here on our pages. The pianist/composer from London, Great Britain (1989), made great impressions with his albums Suíte Três Rios (2016), Skyness (2018), and Live in California (2020). The albums got glorious reviews by Egídio Leitão here on MúsicaBrasileira. Beams is next in line. Again Dan Costa comes up with an album that deserves all the attention it can get. The pianist has a warm and beautiful sound. His style is formed by many influences. To name one, it was the late great jazz pianist Chick Corea (1941-2021) whose rhythmic awareness in the melodic and harmonic complexity of his compositions, gave Dan a basis for his approach to piano playing. Another important influence crept in with the Brazilian music that was played at home during his childhood (his father is Portuguese). Studying music at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP, near São Paulo) gave fuel to including Brazilian influences in his music.
On Beams, those Brazilian touches are present as well. Dan Costa explains: “Most tunes have a strong Brazilian influence… “Acalantando” is a Bossa Nova, ”Encaminho” has a clear samba feel, “Então” hints at Bumba Meu Boi [music and dance play, born in Brazil in the 18th century (KS)] while “Viewscapes” is clearly samba-influenced (especially the send vamp) with lots of sections in Partido Alto [a more jazzy rhythm that is derived from the samba (KS)] throughout. “Paw Prints” has a middle section based on the Brazilian syncope and “Stardial” is also clearly samba-influences with several sections in Baião rhythm.”
The album is built around a trio formation with our exceptional pianist as the leader. On bass is John Patitucci (Brooklyn, NY; 1959). To many jazz fans, he is known for his work with Chick Corea’s Elektric Band and Chick Corea’s Akoustic Band. He had his own Brazilian trio with Yotam Silberstein (guitar) and Rogério Boccato (percussion). John worked with Milton Nascimento, João Gilberto, Airto Moreira and Flora Purim, Ivan Lins, João Bosco, and Dori Caymmi. He’s given space on this album to perform some wonderful soloing. On drums is Paulinho Vicente from São Paulo. He has worked with an impressive variety of musicians and seems perfect for Dan’s trio.
The melodic freedom of the trio is underlined by its guest musicians. Of course, the most noticeable guest is multi-instrumentalist Hermeto “O Bruxo (the wizard)” Pascoal, who does his famous bubbling in a glass of water as a solo. The presence of this already 86-year-old legendary musician gives the album an unexpected but perfectly suiting twist. Vocalist Anne Boccato, from São Paulo but living in New York, makes her entrance as well in the song (“Então”). Her wordless vocals can also be enjoyed on “Paw Prints.” Guitarist Mike Stern shows his signature guitar chops in the leading of, and during his soloing in, “Sparks of Motion.” Then we hear the reliable Teco Cardoso on the alto sax in “Acalantando.” His participation on any occasion is always a success. Trumpeter Dave Douglas’s characteristic sound changes the warm color of the opening title track “Beams” with an angular solo. The last guest is the inimitable Dave Liebman (1946) on soprano sax in an impressive duet with our pianist on the album’s closing “Stardial.”
Beams is another jewel in the repertoire of pianist Dan Costa. He could and should deserve more attention. Until the time comes when Beams will be presented in a CD format, the music can be found on streaming media, e.g., Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple Music…
We kindly suggest you visit his website.
ALBUM INFORMATION
Dan Costa
Beams
Independent (2023)
Time: 45’52”
Tracks (all music composed by Dan Costa)
- Beams (feat. Dave Douglas)
- Acalantando (feat. Teco Cardoso)
- Encaminho
- Sparks of Motion (feat. Mike Stern)
- Cypress
- Então (feat. Hermeto Pascoal & Anne Boccato)
- Viewscape
- Paw Prints (feat. Anne Boccato)
- Stardial (feat. Dave Liebman)
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