Mario Costa picked up drumsticks at the age of six, and started studying percussion systematically at the age of eleven. He studied percussion at the Music School of his native Viãna do Kastèlo (Viana do Castelo), where he met the great 20th century composers John Cage, Steve Reich, Iannis Xenakis and others.
Mario later graduated from the Porto School of Music and Performing Arts in jazz percussion and went to New York to learn from the local luminaries. Soon after his long-term partnership with French jazz luminary Emile Parisien, Mario's band Homo Sapiens was invited to present their project at Porto's famous Casa da Música concert hall
Immortalized on Portuguese double bassist Hugo Carvalhais's Nebulosa and Particula albums on Clean Feed, Mr. Costa drew the attention of the international jazz community and became close with saxophonist Tim Berne, pianist Gabriel Pinto, violinist Dominique Pifarély and other jazz musicians. stage authorities. At that time, his partnership with the Lithuanian saxophonist Liudus Mockūnas was established - both musicians play in H. Carvalhais' ensembles of various compositions.
In 2015, M. Costa debuted at the famous festival "Jazz in Marciac" with E. Parisien, the legendary Micheli Portal and Joachim Kuhn, a year later he released the album "Sfumato" with this group, which was well received in the jazz world.
The drummer's first original album "Oxy Patina", released in 2018 with guitarist Marc Ducret and pianist B. Delbecq, was evaluated by the Portuguese magazine "Jazz.pt" with five stars and elected as the best album of the year, and M. Costa - Portuguese jazz musician of the year. In 2020, the drummer joined the famous British saxophonist Andy Sheppard's new quartet.
Throughout her career, Ms. Costa has appeared in a wide variety of ensembles and projects, including as a member of the Emile Parisien Quartet, Ensemble Super Modern, Orquestra de Jazz de Matosinhos, Gilen Santana's Metamorphose, a trio with Chris Corsano and Jorge Queijo, with Carlos Azevedo, Sérgio Carolino, Jeffery Davis, collaborated with prominent Portuguese composers Miguel Araujo, António Zambujo and fado singer Ana Moura.
He has performed on many elite stages, including New York's Carnegie Hall, SFJAZZ Center (USA), London's Barbican Center, Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, Luxembourg Philharmonics, Amsterdam's Sala Paradiso, Sydney Opera House, Muscat's Royal at the Opera in Oman, "El Lunario" in Mexico City, Bogota Theater, Rio de Janeiro's "Sala da Cidade das Artes".
