| Dan Costa | |
| Image Upright: | 0.9 |
| Birth Date: | 7 April 1989 |
| Birth Place: | London, England |
| Genre: | Jazz, world music, Latin jazz |
| Occupation: | Pianist, composer, educator, writer |
| Associated Acts: | Randy Brecker, John Patitucci, Mike Stern, Hermeto Pascoal, Dave Liebman, Ivan Lins, Dave Douglas,Leila Pinheiro, Jaques Morelenbaum, Romero Lubambo, Seamus Blake, Roberto Menescal |
Daniel Greco Costa (born 7 April 1989) is a British-Italian-Portuguese jazz pianist and composer known for his original work and for his collaborations with artists such as Randy Brecker, John Patitucci, Mike Stern, Hermeto Pascoal, Dave Liebman, Ivan Lins, Seamus Blake, Dave Douglas, Romero Lubambo, Leila Pinheiro, Marcos Suzano, Jaques Morelenbaum and Roberto Menescal.[1] [2] His music has been featured by publications such as DownBeat and Rolling Stone and he has worked as an educator and writer as well.
Costa was born in Westminster, London, to Italian and Portuguese parents from Sorrento and Porto respectively.[3] [4] [5] He studied classical piano as well as jazz piano at the Académie de Musique Rainier III in Monaco for six years prior to taking a diploma at Sir Paul McCartney's Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts back in England. He then focused on jazz at the Escola Superior de Música, Artes e Espetáculo in Portugal, graduating with distinction and a Rotary Club Award for outstanding achievement. During his course, he was also awarded a grant to study Brazilian music at UNICAMP in São Paulo, Brazil as an international exchange student, focusing on both popular and classical composers.[6] He pursued further studies at Berklee College of Music with a merit scholarship.[7] Costa also has university degrees in philosophy, applied linguistics and history, having worked extensively as an educator in related fields.[8] He has also written about music and other fields for several publications. In the article on tempo for Encyclopaedia Britannica, he covered classical, popular and world music genres, and referred to it as "the heartbeat of expression".[9] [10]
Costa's career took off when he recorded his successful debut album Suite Três Rios in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,[11] [12] whose name and concept were inspired by the confluence of rivers in the Amazon as well as the country's rhythmic diversity.[13] It was considered one of the best albums of 2016 by DownBeat [14] [15] [16] with critic Carlo Wolff stating that "the thoroughly cosmopolitan, classically trained Costa has delivered a finely crafted album".[17] The release was also among the best-selling albums on the iTunes Portugal Chart and peaked at number 5 on the Roots Music Report Jazz Chart in the United States[18] [19] while the track "Bossa Nova (feat. Leila Pinheiro)" was Top 10 on the Jazz Song Chart.[20] He collaborated with Jaques Morelenbaum, Leila Pinheiro, Marcos Suzano, Ricardo Silveira, Rafael Barata and Jan Erik Kongshaug, amongst others.[21] [22] [23]
He recorded his second album Skyness, at Arte Suono, Italy, in 2018, featuring Nelson Faria, Roberto Menescal, Romero Lubambo, Seamus Blake, Custodio Castelo, Jorge Helder and Teco Cardoso. Described as "rare and luxurious" by All About Jazz,[2] it was released at the Blue Note in Rio de Janeiro[24] and featured in a documentary by Radio Monte-Carlo in Milan, Italy.[25] Raul da Gama from World Music Report considered him "deeply gifted".[26]
He performed in Italy, Portugal, Cyprus, Brazil, Malta, Spain, Turkey, Greece, Armenia, Lebanon and Egypt, where he was featured by Al-Arab, which considered his music a message of love and intercultural communication.[27] He also toured India, where he was featured and interviewed by Rolling Stone,[28] as well as by India Today.[29] During the tour, he did masterclasses at schools such as Berklee partner Global Music Institute.[30]
In 2020 Costa recorded Love Dance in Lisbon with one of the song's creators, Ivan Lins.[31] Jazziz Magazine wrote "the song is something of a modern standard, with definitive versions recorded by George Benson and Sarah Vaughan; this take surely belongs beside them".[1] Costa was also interviewed by Rádio e Televisão de Portugal with Bossa Nova legend Roberto Menescal, where they talked about their collaboration and the origins of the Brazilian style.[32] He released his first solo piano album, Live in California,[33] [34] which was praised for "profound expression" by Jazziz Magazine [35] and came in second on Roots Music Report's Top Latin Jazz Album for the year of 2020 Chart.[36]
In 2022, he rereleased his track Iremia as a message of peace, featuring trumpeter Randy Brecker.[37] [38] According to Jazziz Magazine, "although they're separated by 44 years and thousands of miles, Costa and Brecker share a rapport that truly elicits the song's warmth and humanity".[39]
He also recorded his new album Beams in New York City with John Patitucci, Mike Stern, Dave Douglas, Hermeto Pascoal, Dave Liebman and other musicians.[40] [41] [42] [43] In an interview for Musica Jazz Costa talked about nature as a major source of inspiration, the use of harmonic colour to express life experiences and the philosophy at the heart of his art, touching on animal rights.[44] In the liner notes, Randy Brecker praised the interactions between the musicians and the intricacy of the compositions, concluding that the album consists of "heartfelt emotional music".[41] Writing for Something Else Reviews, critic Sammy Stein considered the album "a wonder, and a beautiful, peaceful listen"[40] while All About Jazz stated that it displayed "some of the best atmospheric jazz you are likely to hear in 2023. Or any year".[45] Costa toured Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, where he was featured by Otago Daily Times. He did masterclasses at universities such as Mahidol University, Monash University, Australian National University, University of Auckland, and Victoria University of Wellington.[46] His music has also been included in instructional material.[47]
Costa has lived in eight countries and speaks eight languages.[48]