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.
In Stock
Quantity in Basket: None
Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 2.00 units
Sample The Album:
Christoph Schiller-spinet
Carlo Costa-drums
Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.
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.
"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
Get additional information at Jazzword
Artist Biographies
• Show Bio for Christoph Schiller "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." ^ Hide Bio for Christoph Schiller • Show Bio for Carlo Costa "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." ^ Hide Bio for Carlo Costa
4/24/2024
Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.
4/24/2024
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
Improvised Music
Compositional Forms
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Piano & Keyboards
Percussion & Drums
Duo Recordings
New in Improvised Music
Search for other titles on the label:
Neither/Nor Records.
 | Lauzier, Philippe / Carlo Costa Interspace (Tour de Bras / Inexhaustible Editions ) |
| After performing together in Canada beginning in 2019, bass clarinetist & electronic artist Philippe Lauzier and NY percussionist Carl Costa remained in contact during the pandemic by exchanging compositional concepts, the 4-part "Sincronica Vaga" and "Soft Routine" the results, the former based on dovetailing motives, the latter on harmonic counterpoint interaction. | |
 | Diaphane (Loriot / Costa / Hubsch / Loher) Paris (Neither/Nor Records) |
| A live album at the Cafe de Paris in 2019, and the recording debut of the international quartet Diaphane of Frantz Loriot on viola, Raphael Loher on piano, Carl Ludwig Hübsch on tuba and Carlo Costa on percussion, heard here in an extended and fully free improvisation using unusual techniques and objects to extend the pallet of their acoustic instruments. | |
 | Costa, Carlo / John McCowen Pianissimo Etc [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLOAD] (Tripticks Tapes) |
| Powerfully rich sounds from two NY-based instrumentalists — John McCowen on contrabass clarinet & Carlo Costa on bass drum & percussion — in a three-part work of acoustic improvisations, McCowen sounding deceptively electronic through overtones and masterful harmonic technique, while Costa's bass drum provides deep foundations as he mysteriously layers percussive distractions; phenomenal! | |
| Lauzier, Philippe / Carlo Costa Interspace (Tour de Bras / Inexhaustible Editions ) |
| After performing together in Canada beginning in 2019, bass clarinetist & electronic artist Philippe Lauzier and NY percussionist Carl Costa remained in contact during the pandemic by exchanging compositional concepts, the 4-part "Sincronica Vaga" and "Soft Routine" the results, the former based on dovetailing motives, the latter on harmonic counterpoint interaction. | |
 | Schiller, Christoph 24 Stucke Fur Ein Tasteninstrument (Edition Wandelweiser Records) |
| 24 short works for clavichord from German composer Christoph Schiller and performed by French keyboardist Ed Williams (Heard Of Bears, TANDEM, Grand 8 Ensemble), slowly developing pieces that bring clusters of notes like falling leaves that slowly fade into silence, thoughtful works of space around unanticipated clusters, presented as groups of "Fuge" variations. | |
| Diaphane (Loriot / Costa / Hubsch / Loher) Paris (Neither/Nor Records) |
| A live album at the Cafe de Paris in 2019, and the recording debut of the international quartet Diaphane of Frantz Loriot on viola, Raphael Loher on piano, Carl Ludwig Hübsch on tuba and Carlo Costa on percussion, heard here in an extended and fully free improvisation using unusual techniques and objects to extend the pallet of their acoustic instruments. | |
 | Costa, Carlo Silos (Neither/Nor Records) |
| While on vacation in Rome in 2018, NY percussionist Carlo Costa took his portable recorder inside a grain silo in the countryside north of the city, eschewing traditional percussion for found bricks, pipes, rocks and branches found nearby, recording in the resonance of the silo with the sounds of cicadas and other ambiance permeating the silo as he unfolds this engrossing, thoughtfully paced improvisation. | |
 | Moritz / Ali / Costa Estuary (Neither/Nor Records) |
| After having collaborated in a variety of contexts for a few years, in 2017 Jonathan Moritz, Sean Ali and Carlo Costa started to perform regularly as a trio, over time honing a distinctive sound, using space through patient development, abstraction and textural playing and central tenets in their jazz-influenced improvisations, here in their first album. | |
 | Bondi, Cyril / Pierre-Yves Martel / Christoph Schiller Hyazo (Another Timbre) |
| A beautiful, melancholic soundworld created by three musicians who have a rare rapport--Cyril Bondi on Indian harmonium, Pierre on Yves Martel on viola da Gamba, and Christoph Schiller on spinet--following their previous CDs tse and awire by moving on to new territory in 3 compositions allowing for freedom from each musician, two from Schiller and one from Bondi. | |
 | Cabado, Tomas / Christoph Schiller Unconscious Collections (Another Timbre) |
| Swiss prepared spinet player Christoph Schiller and Argentine guitarist-composer Tomás Cabado, whose work is found on the Wandelweiser label, met in Schiller's studio in Basel to perform compositions from both and to improvise, recording this wonderfully relaxed but compelling music that exists in the fertile grey area between composition and improvisation. | |
 | Costa, Carlo Oblio (Neither/Nor Records) |
| New York-based Italian percussionist and Neither/Nor label leader Carlo Costa in a solo percussion album of two pieces using drum set, concert bass drum, singing bowls, bells, triangles, wood blocks, tiles, styrofoam, cymbals, violin bows, marbles, chains, knives, and other objects, creating fascinating alien soundscapes of momentous activity without histrionics. | |
 | Dim Thickets (Carlo Costa / Jason Nazary) Dim Thickets [CASSETTE] (Anticausal Systems) |
| Bringing together two New York percussionists for a wild ride of that finds drummer Jason Nazary performing exclusively on electronics against and alongside Neither/Nor label-leader Carlo Costa's percussion, using glitch and aberrant electronics in actively constrained ways as the two dart and weave around each other in an exciting and unique improvisational dialog. | |
 | Volden, Havard / Carlo Costa In the Wake (Neither/Nor Records) |
| Italian-born New York-based percussionist Carlo Costa meets Norwegian guitarist Havard Volden (Moon Relay, Muddersten) for an album of water-themed free improvisations, beautifully developing with thoughtful playing using rich chord patterns and unusual sonic inventiveness in percussive objects to create a set of rich and languorous surges and pools of sound. | |
 | Natura Morta (Loriot / Ali / Costa) Environ (Neither/Nor Records) |
| The trio of Frantz Loriot (violin), Sean Ali (contrabassist) and Carlo Costa (percussion), a grouping named for still life paintings that concentrate on composition and color, presenting three extended compositions of rich acoustic sound, extending their instruments through masterful technique to create exquisitely detailed and compellingly self-controlled conversation. | |
 | Costa's Acustica, Carlo Strata (Neither/Nor Records) |
| New York composer and drummer Carlo Costa assembled this accomplished ensemble of NY improvisers for a live performance at IBeam in Brooklyn, capturing his piece "Strata" that evolves layers of sound from very sparse to densely yet accesibly stacked sound, varying recurring material to change perspectives in the aural space as the piece progresses; impressive. | |
 | Bondi, Cyril / d'Incise Kirari-Kirari (Edition Wandelweiser Records) |
| A sextet of Cyril Bondi (vibraphone), d'Incise (metallic objects), Magnus Granberg (piano), Anna Lindal (Baroque violin), Anna-Kaisa Meklin (viola de gamba) and Christoph Schiller (spinet) perform two works composed by Bondi and d'Incise, recorded by Simon Reynell of Another Timbre, works of repetition with distinct variations that evolve as each piece progresses. | |
 | Granberg, Magnus Es Schwindelt Mir, Es Brennt Mein Eingweide (Another Timbre) |
| An hour-long work for an ensemble of six musicians by Swedish composer Magnus Granberg performed by Anna Lindal on baroque violin, d incise on vibraphonen electronics, Cyril Bondi on percussion, Anna Kaisa Meklin on viola da gamba, Christoph Schiller on spinet, and Magnus Granberg himself on prepared piano, transforming material from a song by Franz Schubert. | |
 | Schiller, Christoph / Eric Ruffing Trance (Creative Sources) |
| Finding common ground between the acoustic past and the electronic present, the duo of Christoph Schiller on spinet and Eric Ruffing on analogue synthesizer present two extended improvisations of tempered interaction, exploring periods of extended sound, timbre and decay, scrabbling inside playing, restrained electronic whines, and active pointillistic playing. | |
 | Godet, Jean-Brice Quartet (Godet / Attias / Niggenkemper / Costa) Mujo (Fou Records) |
| The debut album of French clarinetist Jean-Brice Godet, recording with a New York quartet of Michael Attias on alto sax, Pascal Niggenkemper on doublebass, and Carlo Costa on drums for seven tracks of adventerous original compositions, using weaving lines in melodic heads that propel his sidemen to lyrically rich solos and asides. | |
 | Schiller, Christoph Spinet, 2016 (Edition Wandelweiser Records) |
| Christoph Schiller performs on the spinet, often improvising with electronics and objects; here he uses the spinet alone in patiently developing compositions that emphasize the individual tones and harmonics of the instrument played on the keys and inside the instrument. | |
 | Earth Tongues (Costa / Peck / Moffett) Rune (Neither/Nor Records) |
| Paying attention to tone, tension, space and silence, the trio of Carlo Costa on percussion, Joe Moffett on trumpet, and Dan Peck on tuba use extended and unusual techniques in a meditative and highly concentrative album of free improvisation, the first album from this trio whose attentive approach to improvisation rewards in unique sonic environments. | |
 | Costa, Carlo Quartet Sediment (Neither/Nor Records) |
| A new NY label from percussionist Carlo Costa in its 1st release, a quartet with Steve Swell on trombone, Sean ali on bass and Jonathan Moritz on sax, presenting an improvisational language that subsumes the individual players into a distinct group sound. | |
 | Doneda / Kocher / Schiller ///Grape Skin (Another Timbre) |
| The trio of Michel Doneda, Christoph Schiller and Jonas Kocher performing music of delicate tension and great assurance recorded in the spectacular church at Ligerz, Switzerland. | |
 | Schiller, Christoph / Millefleurs Millefleurs (Creative Sources) |
| The millefleurs vocal ensemble brings 12 vocalists together in varying groups for minimal and unique vocalisation over a taxonomy of floral genres and species. | |
 | Kimmig, Harald / Christoph Schiller Regen (Creative Sources) |
 | BEAM SPLITTER + Lonning & Reinertsen Beauties (Neither/Nor Records) |
| Aberrant, expressive and idiosyncratic improvisations from the merging of two unique duos--Audrey Chen on voice and Henrik Munkeby Norstebo on trombone; and Eivind Lonning on trumpet and Espen Reinertsen on tenor sax--all using electronics, recording in Norway together while in separate rooms linked by headphones to create these two beautifully strange improvisations. | |
