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Schiller, Christoph / Carlo Costa: Spinet and Drums (Neither/Nor Records)

Three "Card Pieces", short series of pitch collections in a timeline with no other parameter spelled out, performed in a minimalist approach by Swiss spinet player Christoph Schiller and New York drummer & improviser Carlo Costa, where metallic strings are offset by organic and ringing responses, with a final work "Sottobosco" expanding their palette and pace.
 

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Personnel:



Christoph Schiller-spinet

Carlo Costa-drums


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Label: Neither/Nor Records
Catalog ID: n/n 022
Squidco Product Code: 34216

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2023
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded at Atelier Schiller in Basel, Switzerland, on April 25th and 26th, 2022, by Christoph Schiller.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"By carefully weighing every single contribution and allowing each sound or gesture to fully hold its space Christoph Schiller and Carlo Costa create an environment that is at once delicate and stark. The music on Spinet and Drums foregrounds basic elements such as proportion, timbre, pace, pitch, motion and silence.

The three Card Pieces consist of short series of pitch collections in a timeline with no other parameter spelled out. Sottobosco is a fully improvised piece. The album was recorded utilizing one stereo pair of microphones and positioning the two instruments in close proximity to each other."-Neither/Nor



"[...] The three "Card Pieces" unfold infinitesimally reluctantly as Schiller's spinet resonations include string buzzing, feathery plucks and strums. Costa's microtonal responses among intermittent silent pauses emphasize widening tremolo buzzes and reed resembling scratches that emanate from many parts of his kit. Nearly twice the length of the preceding tracks, the concluding "Sottobosco" adds other timbres to the duet. Yet these chain rattles and dissected single key picks for instance are notable only because novel sounds become more prominent. The initial expression of wood, metal and string stress remains. Textures and dynamics are changed so gradually that tonal consistency is emphasized. Engrossing without exactly pinpointing its altering evolution Spinet and Drums as much as Interspace show how restrained understatement can result in as profound programs as any involved with emphasized melody and rhythm."-Ken Waxman, JazzWord


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Artist Biographies

"Christoph Schiller was born in 1963 in Stuttgart. He studied fine arts at the Kunstakademie Stuttgart and HfBK Hamburg. He later studied piano with Daniel Cholette and music theory in Basel. He has been playing concerts of improvised music on piano since 1987. In recent years the piano has been abandoned in favour of the lighter spinet, for which he has developed specific playing techniques which are influenced by inside piano techniques. Besides keyboard instruments his work with the voice has become increasingly important. He lives in Weil am Rhein and Basel."

-Christoph Schiller Website (http://www.christophschiller.net/)
11/5/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Percussionist and composer Carlo Costa was born in Rome, Italy. In 2001 he moved to Boston to study music. Since 2005 he has been living in New York City where he regularly performs as a leader and co-leader of various projects, as well as a sideman. Carlo is currently primarily involved with experimental and improvised music and is an active composer for his ensembles and ad hoc projects. He has performed throughout Europe and the US in a wide variety of contexts.

Carlo currently leads or co-leads Natura Morta (a trio with violist Frantz Loriot and bassist Sean Ali), the Carlo Costa Quartet (with trombonist Steve Swell, saxophonist Jonathan Moritz and bassist Sean Ali), Earth Tongues (with trumpeter Joe Moffett and tubist Dan Peck), the large ensemble Acustica, the trio Ancient Enemies (with alto saxophonist Nathaniel Morgan and violist Joanna Mattrey), and a solo percussion project. In November 2014 Carlo launched the record label Neither/Nor Records which is dedicated to experimental and improvised music."

-Carlo Costa Website (http://www.carlocostamusic.com/carlocostamusic/biography.html)
11/5/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Card Piece I 10:17

2. Card Piece II 10:07

3. Card Piece III 10:16

4. Sottobosco 19:58

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Compositional Forms
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Piano & Keyboards
Percussion & Drums
Duo Recordings

Search for other titles on the label:
Neither/Nor Records.


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