Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Dan Costa: Beams

Dan Costa: Beams

By Craig Arthur
February 19, 2023
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UK-born pianist

Dan Costa

piano
b.1989

" data-original-title="" title="">Dan Costa plays and composes in the impressionistic tradition of

Bill Evans

piano
1929 - 1980

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Evans, acoustic

Herbie Hancock

piano
b.1940

" data-original-title="" title="">Herbie Hancock,

Chick Corea

piano
1941 - 2021

" data-original-title="" title="">Chick Corea or

" data-original-title="" title="">Marcin Wasilewski. It is a style that lends itself well to the alchemy of turning light into music, music into light. And his subject matter of choice on Beams, like that of an impressionist painter, is indeed light. He describes the album as "a celebration of light in some key physical and metaphysical forms."

Light is like water, according to Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and it cascades from Costa's piano keys as if turning on a tap. If there is a Garcia Marquez-like magic realism to his playing, it is accentuated by the album's South American flavour. Several Brazilian musicians feature in the lineup, with

Teco Cardoso

saxophone, tenor

" data-original-title="" title="">Teco Cardoso on alto sax,

Paulinho Vicente

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Paulinho Vicente on drums, along with vocal contributions from

Hermeto Pascoal

flute
b.1936

" data-original-title="" title="">Hermeto Pascoal and

Anne Boccato

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Anne Boccato, complementing Costa's Portuguese/European sensibilities. Boccato's ethereal vocals especially recall those of

Flora Purim

vocals
b.1942

" data-original-title="" title="">Flora Purim on Chick Corea's Return To Forever (ECM, 1972) and Beams will likely appeal to fans of that release or Light As A Feather (Polydor, 1973).

Not only does Beams echo the solo efforts of a former

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis alumnus like Corea, no less than three Davis alumni play on it.

Dave Liebman

saxophone
b.1946

" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Liebman,

Mike Stern

guitar
b.1953

" data-original-title="" title="">Mike Stern and Pascoal. Rounding out the personnel are

John Patitucci

bass
b.1959

" data-original-title="" title="">John Patitucci on bass and

Dave Douglas

trumpet
b.1963

" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Douglas on trumpet. But the consistent backbone across the majority of the tracks is the rhythm section of Patitucci and Vicente, aiding Costa. Three tracks even feature this trio on their own. Douglas joins them on the title track, followed by the warmth of Cardoso's saxophone on "Acalantando," Stern's electric guitar on "Sparks of Motion," and Boccato on "Paw Prints" and "Ent?o." Pascoal also appears on "Ent?o," scat singing through a glass of water, while the closing track, "Stardial," strips the performance down to a celestial duet between the piano and Liebman's soprano sax, unaccompanied.

The shifting array of collaborators allows Costa to slot different lenses onto his camera, so to speak, applying the relevant lens aperture to capture whatever lighting differences exist each time. The result is a haunting, poetic album where Costa's melodic lyricism dances like dappled rays.

Some of the best atmospheric jazz you are likely to hear in 2023. Or any year.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Beams; Acalantando; Encaminho; Sparks of Motion; Cypress; Ent?o; Viewscape; Paw Prints; Stardial.

Personnel

Dan Costa

piano

John Patitucci

bass

Paulinho Vicente

drums

Dave Douglas

trumpet

Teco Cardoso

saxophone, tenor

Anne Boccato

vocals

Hermeto Pascoal

flute

Dave Liebman

saxophone

Mike Stern

guitar

Album information

Title: Beams | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Self Produced

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