Yamandu Costa

Gafieira Rio Miami: Beleza Pura

Read "Beleza Pura" reviewed by Katchie Cartwright

by Katchie Cartwright
May 16, 2026

Put on your dancing shoes for Beleza Pura, the sophomore release of Gafieira Rio Miami, the South Florida-based Latin big band. The album presents an exuberant program of Brazilian and Latin jazz standards, updated with spirited arrangements by Ricardo Gilly. The mood is upbeat and the performances are peppered with guest appearances by such Brazilian luminaries as singer Roberta Sá, seven-string guitar virtuoso Yamandu Costa, pianist-composer Antonio Adolfo, and singer-dancer Luciana Mello, along with Puerto Rican flute ace Nestor Torres ...

Album Review

Jan Lundgren & Yamandu Costa: Inner Spirits

Read "Inner Spirits" reviewed by Neil Duggan

by Neil Duggan
August 23, 2024

They are probably not the most obvious pairing, but pianist Jan Lundgren from Sweden and guitarist Yamandu Costa from Brazil comprehensively prove that the obvious is not always the best. Their album, Inner Spirits, displays a rare kind of chemistry and mutual understanding that defines the concept of musical partnership. It is often the case that piano-guitar duets do not work too well; both instruments seem to compete for the same space. When it works well, the results ...

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Album Review

Yamandu Costa: Ida E Volta

Read "Ida E Volta" reviewed by Elliott Simon

by Elliott Simon
January 9, 2008

Brazilian music boasts a variety of genres that combine African rhythms with Brazilian and Portuguese instrumentation, harmony and melody. Choro is one such style, whose quick tempos, improvisation and complex structure demands virtuosity. The Brazilian nylon 7-string guitar, with its additional bass string, has become standard in Choro ensembles, enabling the intricately structured harmonics. Yamandu Costa is a young guitarist who astounds with his technique; with the multifaceted Ida e Volta (Coming and Going) he intertwines choro with jazz and ...