Chamber Music Rotorua

Encontro des Águas/The Meeting of Waters
Performance by Dan Costa Quartet at St Lukes Church, Rotorua, 12 November,
2024, reviewed by Shamus Baker

Presented in partnership with Chamber Music New Zealand
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The Dan Costa Quartet, featuring British-born pianist Dan Costa, bassist Umar Zakaria, saxophonist Bill Martin, and drummer Carl Woodward, brought a distinctive performance to
Rotorua on November 12, presented by Chamber Music Rotorua.

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The concert, which consisted of two sets mainly featuring Costa's original compositions, began with Alba, from his debut album Suite Três Rios. This piece, influenced by Brazilian rhythms and Baroque structure, evokes the confluence of the Rio Negro and Solimões rivers,symbolizing cultural fusion. The metaphor extends to the music itself, blending diverse elements in a vibrant jazz fusion style. Costa's take on the Brazilian chorinha dance, with its alternating solos over a samba rhythm, was particularly lively, infused with hints of Debussy in the harmony.

A standout moment came with Maracatu, inspired both by an Amazonian bird and Afro-Brazilian rhythms. Costa's opening riff gave way to a march-like pattern from Woodward, and the piece built into a hypnotic mantra, with the ensemble's tight interplay creating a compelling, rhythmic energy.

Costa also showcased a more traditional side with Cypress, a bebop-influenced composition reflecting his Orientalist leanings. The piece, with harmonies reminiscent of the classic jazz of the past, was a tribute to longevity, both in its musical complexity and in the enduring legacy of the jazz greats.

 

Another memorable moment was Costa’s sensitive, solo rendition of George Benson's Love Dance, a tribute to the late Quincy Jones. The evening also highlighted the ensemble’s mastery of subtlety, as seen in the evocative Aria, a tribute to a Chilean waterfall. With its playful waltz and dynamic interplay, this piece demonstrated the focus and attentiveness required from the listener, as jazz unfolds in intricate, often fleeting moments.
 

The second set featured Viewscapes, a track from Costa’s latest album Beams. This piece began with a quiet piano oscillation and evolved into a rhythmically rich, loping composition, underscoring the importance of texture in jazz drumming—something particularly evident in
 

Woodward’s playing. Costa’s sensitive use of repeated tones also added a distinct timbral quality to the music. The harmony throughout was rich and fascinating, and in a track such as Alcalantando, a slow
bossa nova inspired by childhood, one has a sense of the chordal changes as more than mere progressions—they felt like transitions between distinct musical "rooms," each with its own character and motion.
 

While the group reserved their most high-energy improvisation for the encore, the entire performance was filled with striking moments. Martin’s playing was marked by restraint, building to a powerful solo in Samba and raw, shrieking trills in Maracatu. Zakaria, the most visibly dynamic performer, brought a palpable intensity to his bass playing accompanied by a constant sense of striving upwards into heights, while Woodward’s drumming was a model of controlled subtlety—his five-minute solo in Cypress a study in restraint. The quartet's interplay, particularly during Martin's solo in Samba and Zakaria’s intense bass solo in Alcalantando, revealed a remarkable synergy.

Throughout, Costa remained a steady, guiding force, his piano never dominant but always present, weaving around the ensemble like a halo. The quartet’s performance was a rich blend of jazz, rhythm, and subtle improvisation, showcasing not just their technical prowess but their deep, shared musical understanding.