Dan Costa (left) with vocalist Ivan Lins (Photo: Courtesy Dan Costa)
London-born pianist and composer Dan Costa has long had an affinity for Brazilian music, even winning a merit grant to study at the Universidade Estadual de Campinas in São Paulo. What’s more, he recorded his 2016 debut album Suite Três Rios in Rio de Janeiro with an all-star cast of Brazilian musicians: Jaques Morelenbaum, Ricardo Silva and Teco Cardoso, among others. Those Brazilian flavors colored his 2018 release, Skyness, as well, featuring the likes of Roberto Menescal, Romero Lubambo and Nelson Faria. For his latest offering, a single release, Costa interprets the gorgeous ballad “Love Dance,” in duet with one of its composers, Brazilian vocalist Ivan Lins. Captured in a studio in Lisbon, the intimate performance is rich with feeling and understated virtuosity. Penned by Lins, along with Gilson Peranzzetta and Paul Williams, the song is something of a modern standard, with definitive versions recorded by George Benson and Sarah Vaughan; this take surely belongs beside them. For more info, visit dancosta.net