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Nuno Costa

Born in 1980, the Portuguese guitarist Nuno Costa started playing at the age of 15. In 1998, began his classical music studies at Academia de Amadores de Música. A year later, went to the Hot Clube de Portugal jazz school and in 2002 received an achievement scholarship. He then moved to Boston with a new scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music and in 2005 graduated with Magna Cum Laude in Film Scoring. In 2021 he finished his PhD at Faculdade de Belas-Artes of Universidade de Lisboa (Summa Cum Laude).

His first album “(...) - Reticências entre Parênteses” was released in 2009 for the Portuguese indie label Tone of Pitch. The record had a good reception by the critics, with positive reviews and was featured both in the national and international press. In 2012 released his second album “All Must Go” for the same label. “Packed with solid and imaginative writing, played by a group of amazing improvisers, All Must Go is a dazzling musical experience that should not be missed by anyone interested in modern jazz”. "Detox" was released in 2015. Mário Laginha wrote about it: "It is enjoyable to listen to and it is never predictable. I don’t feel one can ask more from a record". "À Deriva" (2017) it's his 4th album as a leader and the first of Saga Cega, with whom he drove apart from jazz for the first time in his career. Saga Cega gathers a cast of notorious musicians from the Portuguese scene. His trio NoA has been around since 2012 and kept playing an active role in the Portuguese jazz scene. "Evidentualmente" (2020) was recorded by this trio and it's also available in vinyl. The album was one of the nominees for best jazz album at the Prémios Play awards. Cenas de Uma Vida no Bosque was released in 2021. It was recorded with a septet and it's also part of his PhD thesis. "Concavexo" (2022) it's NoA's second album and it features the amazing Rão Kyao.  

With a strong connection to film scoring, Nuno Costa frequently works with directors, writing music for their projects. In association with pianist Óscar Graça has a “Silent Movie&Live Music” project that has been playing in several film festivals in Portugal. 

He is currently teaching at the Jazz e Música Moderna Major and at the Musicoterapia Master's Degree at Universidade Lusíada de Lisboa. 


Tags

Album Review

Nuno Costa: Detox

Read "Detox" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


C'è un velo di malinconico lirismo, di nostalgico abbandono, nella musica di Nuno Costa che ricorda il carattere profondo dell'animo portoghese. 35 anni, operante a Lisbona nella nuova e stimolante scena musicale cittadina, il chitarrista è tornato sulle rive del Tejo da un decennio, dopo essersi diplomato con lode al Berklee College of Music di Boston. In questo periodo ha inciso due dischi ottenendo eccellenti giudizi critici: Reticências entre parênteses (Tone Pitch, 2009) e All Must Go (Tone ...

6
Album Review

Nuno Costa: Detox

Read "Detox" reviewed by Mark Sullivan


Portuguese guitarist Nuno Costa is heavily involved in music for film--his Berklee College of Music major was Film Scoring--so it's not surprising that his music often has a cinematic quality. This includes dramatic episodic compositional structures as well as programmatic song titles. Detox is his third album, following (...) -Reticências entre Parênteses (2009) and All Must Go (2012). The opener “Hum...?" contains the most electronic sounds on the album (courtesy of guitar effects), which contrasts with the mostly ...

2
Album Review

Nuno Costa: Detox

Read "Detox" reviewed by Chris Mosey


Many things inspired Portuguese guitarist Nuno Costa making this, his third album: the Bible, Matthew 20:16, “So the last will be first, and the first will be last"; the life of a wasp; his pet dog, Mr Kido; and-- last but by no means least--his newly-born daughter Leonor. His songs start well, struggle to find meaningful direction and then--very often-- tend simply to peter out. Hey, but that's jazz... isn't it? The session kicks off with “Hum...?" ...

3
Album Review

Nuno Costa: Detox

Read "Detox" reviewed by Edward Blanco


Young Lisbon-based, Portuguese guitarist Nuno Costa, delivers his third album as leader with the airy and very modern-like Detox boasting seven intricate originals performed by an all-European crew in a sextet format. This is not your typical straight-ahead material having discernable melodies and rhythms of the bebop or other traditional jazz nature. Costa designs compositions that are provocative and intelligent, leaning towards the fusion or edgy modern jazz style with a bit of the free-style flavor in the mix.

2
Album Review

Nuno Costa: Detox

Read "Detox" reviewed by Roger Farbey


Guitarist and Berklee College of Music alumnus Nuno Costa has produced his third album, which was recorded in January 2014, in Lisbon, Portugal, where he and his band are based. It makes for some intriguing listening too. Electronic guitar whine cedes to ethereal harmonics, constituting the opening bars of “Hum...?," and from here on in the group sets out its stall of florid, lyrical melodies, all composed by Costa. Whilst the guitarist is somewhat overshadowed by piano, sax ...

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"As a quirky sidebar to the music, its imaginative artwork is reminiscent of the cover of prog band Family's debut album Music in a Doll's House (Reprise, 1968), something of an attractive bonus for those old enough to remember it. As for the music, Costa employs a generally self-effacing modus operandi tending to push the other soloists forward, much as Miles Davis was latterly wont to do. But whilst the guitarist takes something of a democratic stance as far as soloing goes, his music is engaging, expertly arranged and performed, compositionally hypnotic and definitely deserving of more exposure." "Packed with solid and imaginative writing, played by a group of amazing improvisers, All Must Go is a dazzling musical experience that should not be missed by anyone interested in modern jazz."

Primary Instrument

Guitar

Location

Lisbon

Credentials/Background

wwwnunocostamusic.com

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Concavexo

Ar Líquido
2022

buy

Detox

Self Produced
2015

buy

All Must Go

Tone Of A Pitch Records
2012

buy

"(...) - Reticências...

Tone Of A Pitch Records
2009

buy

Videos

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