NAME(S) ON TILE:                 JOHNNY COSTA

                                                    1997 MELLON JAZZ FESTIVAL

                                                    HONOREE

DONOR NAME(S):                   MELLON BANK

Born in 1922 in Arnold, Pennsylvania, Johnny Costa fashioned his first musical instruments out of empty olive oil cans at age 5.  He later studied music composition at Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) with the renowned Nikolai Lopatnikoff.  Following graduation, Costa traveled with his trio and honed his reputation as a first-rate jazz pianist on Steve Allen’s original “Tonight Show” and in the hottest jazz clubs in New York, Chicago, Detroit and Miami.  He also recorded albums on the Savoy, Coral, Dot, Voice and Chiaroscuro labels.

In 1965 Costa agreed to arrange, conduct and play the music for 100 episodes of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”  That stint with Fred Rogers lasted more than three decades, with Costa - according to many jazz aficionados - playing “the finest jazz on television anywhere.”

During his 31 years with “Neighborhood,” Costa maintained other aspects of his career - performing, recording, arranging and marveling fellow musicians and audiences alike with his creative arrangements and dazzling rhythms.  He also recorded a sound track for Walt Disney’s “Hansel and Gretel” and entertained at White House functions hosted by the Reagans.  Costa also was a welcome guest lecturer at CMU’s School of Music.

The consummate improviser and ambassador of music continued his lifelong passion virtually until his death on Oct. 11, 1996.