Eddie Costa was influenced by his musically trained brother, Bill, and a local piano teacher; he took professional gigs from the age of 15. In contrast to his piano training, Costa was self-taught on vibes. From the age of 18, Costa played and toured with violinist Joe Venuti. He then worked for his brother in New York until, in 1951, he was drafted into the army ; during this time, he performed in Japan and Korea. Upon release two years later, Costa began working around the New York area, including for bands led by Kai Winding, Johnny Smith, and Don Elliott.
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In 1954 Costa made his first recordings, with guitarist Sal Salvador, to whom he had been recommended by trombonist Kai Winding. The first of these sessions, in July, featured one of Costa's compositions, "Round Trip". Costa's first recording as leader was in 1956, with his trio featuring bassist Vinnie Burke and drummer Nick Stabulas. This was released under slightly differing titles by Josie Records and Jubilee Records, and was well received: critic John S. Wilson, for instance, commented on the "roaring, spitting piano solos by Eddie Costa". Around this time, Costa was nicknamed "The Bear" by Vinnie Burke for his powerful playing. Also in 1956, Costa and Burke joined guitarist Tal Farlow, forming a resident trio to play at the Composer club on West 58th Street. Farlow's comment on the absence of a drummer from the trio was that "Eddie's feeding, comping or whatever you want to call it was so fierce that there was no doubt at all where the time was, so I didn't miss the drums at all". The trio stayed together, recording several albums under Farlow's name, until, in 1958, the Composer closed. Costa was often in recording studios as a sideman around this time, but in 1957 he was again leader, recording with a quintet of Phil Woods, Art Farmer, Teddy Kotick, and Paul Motian; their repertoire featured interpretations of "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" and Dave Brubeck's still fairly new "In Your Own Sweet Way", the latter of which focused on Costa's vibes and Farmer's muted trumpet, with Woods switching to the piano. A 1959 Billboard review was positive, calling it "a first rate jazz set" on which "Costa swings as ever on piano"...
Source : https://jaz.fandom.com/wiki/Eddie_Costa
Eddie Costa
Art Farmer
Together
In Their Own Sweet Way
(PM-2002)
Tracks
1 Get Out of the Road (Woods) 4:50
2 In Your Own Sweet Way (Brubeck) 4:32
3 Big Ben (Woods) 4:57
4 Nature Boy (Ahbez) 4:07
5 Blues Plus Eight (Costa) 4:05
6 I Didn't Know What Time It Was (Hart, Rodgers) 4:31
7 Stretch in "F" (Farmer) 3:19
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Personnel
Eddie Costa - p & vb
Art Farmer - tp
Phil Woods - as
Teddy Kotick - b
Paul Motian - dr
Recorded in New York City ; July, 1957