Carlo Costa
Moritz / Ali / Costa
Jonathan Moritz - tenor and soprano saxophones
Sean Ali - double bass
Carlo Costa - percussion
Releases
Estuary, Neither/Nor Records (2020)
Bios
Saxophonist Jonathan Moritz was born in Tehran, Iran. At an early age he moved to California, and since 2000 he’s been living in Brooklyn, NY. He is active in the city’s musical scene both as a leader of the trio Secret Tempo, with bassist Shayna Dulberger and drummer/percussionist Mike Pride (Hot Cup Records), as well as a sideman or collaborator in a variety of groups including The UP (w/ Ben Gerstein, Eivind Opsvik and John McLellan), Evil Eye (w/ Nate Wooley, Ken Filiano and Mike Pride.), Mike Pride’s From Bacteria to Boys (w/ Jon Irabagon, Alexis Marcelo, Peter Bitenc) and Trio Caveat (w/ James Ilgenfritz and Chris Welcome).
Bassist, composer, and improviser Sean Ali from Dayton, Ohio has been living in New York City since 2003, where he participates in the city’s vibrant experimental music scene both as a performer and curator. His current projects include: Fester with David Grollman (percussion), LathanFlin&Ali with Lathan Hardy (sax) and Flin Van Hemmen (drums), Natura Morta with Carlo Costa (percussion) and Frantz Loriot (viola), Hag with Brad Henkel (trumpet) and David Grollman (percussion), PascAli with Pascal Niggenkemper (bass), Mattrey.Bordreuil.Ali with Joanna Mattrey (viola) and Leila Bordreuil (cello), and large ensemble The Mudbath Orchestra. His solo performances center around text and sound-specific preparations for the bass. He is co-founder and member of the new music label Prom Night Records.
Percussionist and composer Carlo Costa was born and grew up in Rome, Italy. Since 2005 he has been based in New York City. In the past several years he has been making music which is largely improvised and/or experimental in nature. Through the use of a variety of unusual techniques and added objects Carlo has meticulously developed a distinctive and wide-ranging sonic palette. His long standing projects are Natura Morta (with Frantz Loriot and Sean Ali), Earth Tongues (with Dan Peck and Joe Moffett) and Moritz/Ali/Costa (with Jonathan Moritz and Sean Ali). Newer projects include a duo with contrabass clarinetist John McCowen and the quartet Diaphane (with Carl Ludwig Hübsch, Raphael Loher and Frantz Loriot). Carlo additionally performs solo concerts and has released two solo albums to date. Over the years Carlo has had the opportunity to perform throughout Europe, Canada, the US and Japan.
About
Sean Ali, Jonathan Moritz and Carlo Costa have been playing together since 2013 in a variety of projects. Since 2017 the three have been performing as a collective trio and over time have honed a distinctive band sound. One of the primary pursuits of the band is to inhabit and explore the acoustic space they perform in. The trio generally never utilizes any amplification and more often than not performs in DIY spaces that are not meant for concerts. By establishing a fragile yet palpable atmosphere the band activates the space and gradually draws the audience into its pool of sound.
Press quotes
“What throbs in Estuary is a life drive that plays by its codes with a sincerity that should not be taken as a disarming charm, but more as a state of nature in which it is good to settle down.” (Citizen Jazz review of Estuary)
“A very good new release. Spacious and spare improv, very sensitive and restrained, subtle tensions abounding. Good stuff.” (Brian Olewnick review of Estuary)
photo by Azumi Oe
