Beams builds on the success of Dan Costa’s previous albums, Suite Três Rios and Skyness with a veritable star-spangled line up including John Patitucci on bass, Paulinho Vicente on drums, Dave Douglas on trumpet, Teco Cardoso on alto saxophone, Mike Stern on guitar, Dave Liebman on soprano saxophone, Herman Pascoal on percussion and Anne Boccato on vocals.
The LP was recorded in New York City, with no set plan in place. “I contacted these musicians this year – except for Paulinho Vicente, the drummer, whom I had already performed live with in Sao Paulo and who studied at the same university as I did, Teco Cardoso, who had also played in my two previous studio albums and the well-known Hermeto Pascoal, whom I’ve been in touch with for some time,” said Costa, who served as composer, pianist, arranger and producer on Beams. “I went with the flow and spontaneously thought which musicians would be more artistically related to the tune at hand.”
The gentle title track opens the album, with subtle interactions between Patitucci’s double bass and the piano, rising in volume with the piano melodies. The pace changes and Douglas’ trumpet sings across the top. Patitucci plays a dexterous and interesting bass solo before the four-minute mark, weaving around the melody, which the piano re-introduces before the trumpet again rises to sigh across the top.
“Acalantando” is introduced by Dan Costa’s piano, joined by the drums, and a gentle, swingy number ensues. There is an explorative feel to this number as the musicians work the tonal aspects, and it feels as if they are enjoying the off-beats, the interactions, and the conversant feel. The sax plays atmospheric, melodic lines, under which the piano and percussion converse before the piano rises above in gentle, swinging mood, underpinned by steady bass lines. The sax once again soars and sighs across the top.
“Encaminho” begins with Patitucci leading and piano supporting, complimentary chordal links. The piano interacts percussively with Vicente and melodically with the bass, which makes for an intriguing listen — wrapped in a gentleness that belies the complexity of the patterns and changes. There is a beautiful section where the bass finds its voice, rising from a supportive role and swapping with the piano as it supports the bass solo. A wonderfully intriguing listen.
“Sparks of Motion” is opened with Stern’s guitar creating intricate rises and chords, the piano joining and taking the lead, creating melodic top lines over Vicente’s drums before the guitar once again establishes the melody, and Stern shows his virtuosity. John Patitucci responds, with piano supporting with chords and subtle phrasing under its leading line. “Cypress” is a joyful, exuberant number with piano introducing a playful melody, the joy oddly tempered with repeated deep notes in places, which add a touch of menace to the atmosphere in opposition to the overall atmosphere of the number. It develops with great interaction between bass, percussion and piano, inspiring images of a strong, waving tree of the title.
“Então” is a trickling, happy number enhanced by the vocals of Anne Boccato and packed with intricacies from the piano, voice and ensemble. Patitucci’s bass shines once more, delivering a driving solo, under which the piano adds emphasis. The addition of the bubbling vocals by Hermeto Pascoal is a surprise and adds yet another layer to the multiple textures of this track. “Viewscape” is contemplative, dreamlike and the music takes the listener along pathways that diverge, merge and glide towards hidden delights – which, it turns out, are a gorgeous bass-piano dialogue, a change of atmosphere, and a beautiful fade out which leaves a peaceful afterburn.
“Paw Prints” feels retro in its arrangement, with vocals musing melodies across the top before the piano and voice duet in a beautiful, peaceful interlude, the voice emphasized at times by high note thunks from Dan Costa’s piano. A bass solo begins from the three-minute mark and sounds for all the world like a big cat, carefully placing paw prints of the title before the vocals re-enter, and the ensemble finishes with a return to the theme.
“Stardial” begins with the sax announcing the celestial journey the music is about to take – and as Costa’s piano then carries the listener skyward, the sax responds in rising and falling progressions before the sax takes off, literally soaring across the top while the piano offers celestial bursts of starlight. An effervescent track with exquisite saxophone over the atmospheric and profoundly intuitive piano.
Dan Costa’s LP celebrates light in key physical and metaphysical forms – from non-human animals in “Paw Prints” to plants in “Cypress,” from childhood in “Acalantando” to liberty in “Encaminho” and contemplation in “Viewscapes,” from the urban in “Sparks of Motion” to the rural in “Então” and then to the celestial in “Beams” and “Stardial.” Along the way, Costa transports the listener through musical imagery, lyricism, and pictorial language of musical expression.
This exploratory nature is felt through stark landscapes punctured by starbursts of light as sound and those where the vision is of dissipated light or even its absence. Beams is a wonder, and a beautiful, peaceful listen.
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