Eddie Costa

Hailing from an improbable origin in a rural coal-mining community, Eddie Costa forged a distinguished yet tragically abbreviated path through jazz. Having learned piano under the guidance of his sibling Bill, he cultivated an affinity for the swing masters before an encounter with Bud Powell redirected his focus to bop. After becoming self-taught on vibes, Costa gained recognition for his remarkable sight-reading skill, which in turn generated abundant studio assignments. His signature piano style stressed the middle and lower registers while largely avoiding the upper two octaves. Alongside sideman appearances with Tal Farlow, Woody Herman, Johnny Smith, the Bob Brookmeyer-Clark Terry Quintet, and Bill Evans, he also fronted his own trio and quintet sessions. Unfortunately the majority of his recordings continue to be absent from CD, apart from the VSOP reissue of his Quintet LP. In 1962 Costa perished after his car plunged off a busy New York parkway.