Dan Costa
Suite Três Rios

THE REVIEW

A blend of harmonious sounds and driving rhythms that create a sophisticated and tasteful atmosphere, is what the twenty-seven-year-old Dan Costa offers us with his debut album, "Suite Três Rios".
Melodies and harmonies that are well-thought-out, carefully arranged, interweaving with the Latin rhythms the composer provides.
The suite (in French, succession) is a classical musical genre, more precisely, a set of related pieces designed to be played in sequence. The pieces that constitute a suite are called movements, and in Baroque music, they are all in the same key.
"Suite Três Rios" is the result of years of study and musical research, initiated at a classical conservatory in a French-speaking context, which, according to the author, helped him greatly "to understand music in a deep way, and to come into contact with various composers who have had a significant impact on the development of my music".
Attracted from the start by the freedom of jazz and the simplicity of popular music, he had the opportunity to delve deeper into the subject by graduating from the school of former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney, obtaining the degree in popular music. From there, he began to rediscover his roots, born in London to a Portuguese father and an Italian mother, he moved to Portugal where he graduated in jazz, also winning a scholarship that soon led him to study in Brazil, a country that perhaps most significantly influenced his music, and which he in turn conveys in this first work.
All the pieces, in fact, present in "Suite Três Rios", were born there, in Brazil, and they are heavily influenced by that musical environment and culture. The key peculiarity of this work is the Brazilian rhythms influenced by other characteristics dictated by his non-Brazilian origins. A truly novel approach to this genre, making it highly recommended to those who love it.
The album features significant artistic collaborations with notable Brazilian artists such as cellist Jaques Morelenbaum, who has worked extensively with Jobim and, more recently, Caetano Veloso, among many others, as well as bossa nova singer Leila Pinheiro.
The CD was mixed in Norway by Jan Kongshaug, who has worked extensively for the German record label ECM. Then it headed to Los Angeles, where it was mastered by the Englishman John Greenham. It will be available on the market as early as this summer and can be purchased on iTunes.
Already favorably appreciated in the jazz-world music scene, "Suite Três Rios" is a contender for an important spot in the world of distinguished music.
An absolutely positive judgment for the album that introduces musician Dan Costa to the general public. Listening to it gives one the sensation of allowing the mind to travel to imaginary scenarios, almost as if savoring the entire artistic journey undertaken by the composer up to the creation of this work.