Like many Pittsburgh jazz luminaries, Johnny Costa emerged from humble beginnings. But while most found fame only after leaving town, Costa (1922-1996), remained here only to achieve immortality as both a musicians’ musician and vital part of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”
As a child, John Costanza of Arnold, Westmoreland County wanted to emulate a cousin’s accordion-playing. His dad Dominick, an Italian-born laborer anxious his son find an easier livelihood, sold the family home for $500 to buy one, but had to carry the heavy instrument for his son.
His grade school music teacher, who discovered he had perfect pitch, suggested he study piano. His instructor was Martin Meissler, who taught Pittsburgh-born piano virtuoso Oscar Levant. Art Tatum’s fleet-fingered piano virtuosity fueled his passion for jazz. After high school, he played locally and joined a New York City orchestra before being drafted in 1942.
Unscathed after hitting the beach at Normandy as an Army medic, rheumatic fever left him bedfast for a year before his discharge. At home, he played downtown clubs like Mercur’s Music Bar while earning a music composition degree at Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University) on the GI Bill.
A frequent guest on KDKA radio’s popular live music showcase “Singing Strings,” he met lifelong friend Joe Negri.
“We were the only two jazz guys they seemed to use,” Negri recalled.
WDTV, Pittsburgh’s sole TV station, hired Costa as a staff musician in 1951, four years before it became KDKA. He spent 15 years there as musical director and occasionally collaborated with Negri. On organist Ken Griffin’s syndicated 1954-55 TV show, filmed in Pittsburgh and hosted by KDKA personality Sterling Yates, their fiery interplay on “After You’ve Gone” reveals why fans compared his high-velocity pianistics to Tatum’s.
Costa’s informal jamming with A-list jazz performers passing through Pittsburgh got New York interested. He recorded three LPs there for Coral Records. A December, 1955 appearance on NBC’s year-old “Tonight Show” led to engagements at Manhattan’s hallowed jazz club the Embers. Despite sizable offers for national tours, he chose to stay home with his wife and kids. This is “Whispering” from a 1956 album.
At Channel 2, he was all over their many live local shows. He portrayed cigar-chewing, piano-playing “Indian Mary” on the kids’ program “Funsville.” In this 60’s clip from KD’s early morning “Daybreak,” he accompanies host Don Riggs’ famous puppet Willie the Duck.
Along with a mid-60’s stint as guest bandleader for the nationally-syndicated, Philly-based “Mike Douglas Show,” he accompanied Fred Rogers on a short-lived 1965 WTAE children’s program. While planning the “Neighborhood’s” 1968 national debut, Rogers recruited Costa as musical director despite a modest $5000 initial music budget. Needing that precise amount for his son’s college tuition, he accepted—and held the job 28 years.
Commercial kids’ TV often utilized grade-school level music, but since Rogers never talked down to his audience, he and Costa agreed the music shouldn’t, either. This diverse clip shows Rogers and Costa with Joan Rivers on a 1983 “Tonight Show.” Costa explains how he arranged the show’s theme. Other “Neighborhood” moments feature him with sidemen Carl McVicker and Bobby Rawsthorne.
As each episode ended, after Rogers finished singing “It’s Such a Good Feeling,” Costa and his sidemen took over. They unleashed pure, spontaneous jazz as the credits rolled, never playing the same way twice. “Johnny used to fly all over the place; it was great," Negri said.
When the Neighborhood wasn’t in production, he recorded new albums and performed locally. A late 80’s aplastic anemia diagnosis weakened him, yet he worked as long as he could. Even after his death in October, 1996, he remained part of the Neighborhood. Rogers and musical director Michael Moracz retained his original piano intro; his name never left the closing credits.
Negri, whose career paralleled Costa’s in so many ways, summed him up with awe and affection.
“Johnny was something. He was a live wire, just funny and full of such technique,” Negri said.
There’s no question Johnny Costa earned renown without leaving home. A singular achievement, however, sets him apart from the many jazz icons born here. He didn’t just bring quality jazz to adults but to generations of American kids not even aware they were hearing it.