Eddie Costa

Eddie Costa emerged from an unlikely background into a heralded -- if too brief -- career in jazz. Born in a rural coal mining town, Costa studied piano with his brother Bill and developed a taste for the swing greats; later, exposure to Bud Powell turned him to bop. Self-taught on vibes, Costa became known as an excellent sight reader, which produced a lot of studio work. On piano, his trademark sound was the emphasis of the middle and lower registers while nearly ignoring the top two octaves. In addition to recording as a sideman with Tal Farlow, Woody Herman, Johnny Smith, ...