Words by Justin Turford
“My music is the soul of my Afro-indigenous root. My music is a scream against injustice, racism, immigration, violence and power.”
The remarkable Brazilian born and Italy based singer/songwriter Nilza Costa has a brand new album on Brutture Moderne and it is a wonderful and unique combination of deep jazz and Afro Brazilian praise music. The sounds of Salvador de Bahia, the African heart of Brazil in the northeast of this vast country, sit easily and beautifully alongside European jazz traditions and the album ‘Le notti di San Patrizio’ (St Patrick’s Night) is at times hypnotic and otherworldy, at others funky and direct. Written by Nilza and arranged by musical partner Roberto ‘Red’ Rossi, the infusion of traditional Brazilian forms Candomblé, Capoeira, Samba, Maculelê and Cantigas de Roda alongside the beautifully weighted spiritual jazz motifs brought by Roberto and the band give us something both recognisable and original. After many months of waiting, Nilza and her band set of on a much needed Italian tour. I sent her a few questions while she was on the road…
JT - Can you tell me a little about your backstory?
NC - I was born in Salvador de Bahia, I sang in choirs in Salvador and I always wrote but I didn't think that what I wrote became melodies. Brazil is a beautiful land but unfortunately with many social inequalities. The life of my family has always been very hard and but we are not resigned, we have always fought against the system and I am happy to make music. Music has always been in my life as a child.
JT - How did you find yourself in Italy?
NC - I came to Italy married to an Italian and stayed married for ten years, now I am separated and I go on with my life as I always have. Italy is a wonderful country, beautiful, full of culture and history and that I love as my second home.
JT - I have a good friend from Salvador da Bahia and he shares that uniquely complex faith that comes from Bahia and your faith is deeply embedded in your music. Can you tell me more about it?
NC - As for my faith, it has always been within me not as a religion but as a philosophy of life. The Orixás are apart from nature and within the music that I automatically make there is this spirituality, this search not to forget the strength of this nature through the Orixás. My music is the soul of my Afro-indigenous root. My music is a scream against injustice, racism, immigration, violence and power.
JT - When did you realise that jazz would blend well with Bahian rhythms and melodies or was it something that seemed natural to you and strange that other people weren’t doing it?
NC - Jazz is freedom of expression and improvisation. We are Jazz, we have it inside.
JT - Who are your musical inspirations?
NC - My musical inspirations are so many, but I can enumerate these - Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Milton Nascimento, John Coltrane, Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone, Cesária Évora, Miriam Makeba…
JT - How has your new tour been? Happy to tour after Covid I imagine?
NC - The tour after Covid was really wonderful, I went with my band (Daniele Santimone (electric guitars and seven strings), Maurizio Piancastelli (trumpet, effects and keyboards) and Gianfilippo Invencibile (drums / percussion). Now is to wait for the Festivals and clubs to contact us for new dates because music is life and we want to play. This is our job.