International Jazz Day: Austrian Innovators

Let’s get one thing out of the way: this is not a best-of list. We‘re not really into judging, it’s not the end of the year – and most of all, music is not a competition. That being said, April 30th is UNESCO International Jazz Day, and it occurred to us that – as unimaginable as it may seem – not everyone is familiar with the movers and shakers of the Austrian jazz scene. Never fear, we’re here to help! Behold: a highly subjective, not at all comprehensive, off-the-cuff overview of some of the folks behind the current renaissance in Austrian jazz.

The Austrian jazz scene (as we noted a year ago) is a hotbed of musical diversity. From Afro-jazz and Eastern sounds to classical crossover projects, from “mainstream” to bombastic freedom, to pop, electronic and ambient takes on the genre – if there’s improvisation and the will to self-expression, someone is doing it in the Alpine republic. Jazz itself, it could be argued, is more of an attitude than a genre – and even if it is a genre, it’s a sprawling, difficult-to-define one: the very definition of inclusivity. In honor of International Jazz Day, we’re pleased to highlight a few leaders of the scene, people who are currently particularly active and influential. Some of the names you’ll have heard of already, some you may not have…but we promise one thing: they are all worthy of your time and attention.

*For the sake of brevity, we’re just highlighting upcoming dates – for complete listings, see individual links at the bottom of the page.

The Jazzwerkstatt wien

It’s probably cheating to start off with a group, but what can we say? This collective has been shaping Austrian jazz consistently for the last twenty years (see our recent interview) and is as much a tastemaker, pusher of boundaries, and nurturer of young talent as ever. Also, the members of the curation team are each worthy of inclusion in their own right, so we’re checking multiple boxes with this one. Happy birthday, JazzWerkstatt – and keep at it.

Upcoming dates include:

• June 6: Open air, Esterházy Park, Vienna, feat. Mira Lu Kovacs, Georg Vogel, Enesi M. et al
• June 8 – 9: “The Music Never Stops – 24 Hours With JazzWerkstatt Wien” at Porgy & Bess, Vienna, feat. Max Nagl, Anja Om, Pamelia Stickney, Valcic/Preuschl, The Clonious, and many more.

Judith Ferstl

*New Release by chuffDRONE: Mosaik

Georg Vogel

Georg Vogel is a man of many talents: in the last ten years, adding to his reputation as a highly creative pianist, improviser, and composer, he has designed, built, and composed for microtonal instruments, the 31-tone clavitones. This work is shown perhaps to its best advantage in the intensely microtonal, polyrhythmic trio Dsilton.

Upcoming engagements:

• June 6: with drummer Andreas Lettner, Esterházy Park, Vienna
• June 8: with thereminist Pamelia Stickney, Porgy & Bess, Vienna
• July 28: with Martin Leitner (nature recordings) and Bodo Hell (text) at Glatt&Verkehrt, Krems
• October 8-10: lecture and solo concert, Biennale Musica Venezia

Yvonne Moriel

Saxophonist Yvonne Moriel seems to be everywhere these days – enriching the large ensembles of Ralph Mothwurf, Christoph Cech, and Christian Muthspiel, appearing with Ankathie Koi and Shake Stew, as well as with her own Sweetlife Trio and quartet. Her playing combines cool precision with a quiet ardor; the music of her bands has a relaxed, dubby, loungey vibe.

Upcoming engagements:

• April 30 (yes, tonight!): Mehrspur, Zurich (CH)
• May 22 & 23: Sweetlife at Rhiz & Loop, Vienna
• July 5 & 6: with Shake Stew, Jazzfestival Südtirol (IT)
• July 7: Sweetlife at Jazzfestival Südtirol
• July 11: Jazz Festival Ljubljana (SI)

Martin Eberle

Trumpeter and all-around musician Martin Eberle is a bit of a dark horse in this list – appearances under his own name are mostly limited to a duo with trombonist Martin Ptak – but he’s been behind and/or in midst of countless projects in the last fifteen years or so. His signature glitching, growling trumpet sounds and lyrical solos can be heard on a slew of albums; he’s a founding member of Kompost3, 5K HD, and the Jazzorchester Vorarlberg; and his current projects include the aforementioned duo, Tobias Vedovelli’s Haezz, Die Strottern (both “with brass” and in their long-running collaboration with the JazzWerkstatt Wien), and as musical director and demiurge for Soap&Skin. In short: if you know, you know.

Upcoming engagements:

• April 30 (tonight!): with Haezz, JazziT Salzburg (plus live broadcast on Ö1 radio)
• May 25: with Haezz, Radiokulturhaus Vienna: 5 Million Pesos/album release
• June 24: with Die Strottern, Theater am Spittelberg, Vienna
• July 7th: with Haezz, Jazz Festival Alto Adige, South Tyrol (IT)
• July 18-21: with 5/8erl in Ehr’n & Jazzorchester Vorarlberg (Austria tour)

Mona Matbou Riahi

The Tehran-born clarinetist, improviser, and composer Mona Matbou Riahi has been a unique, effervescent presence on the Vienna jazz scene for a number of years now. She combines formidable technique with a never-ending openness and curiosity, evidenced in the breadth of her collaborations: with various groups centered around Golnar Shahyar and Mahan Mirarab, Mira Lu Kovac, /kry – and, most recently, as co-curator of the forward-looking De/Semble festival.

Upcoming engagements:

• May 2: with /kry, Tunisia
• May 7-8: with the improvisers’ ensemble Melting Pot, Oslo (NO) & Ghent (BE)
• May 10: with Trio Liberamente, Freiburg (DE)
• Opening concert – Jazzfestival Saalfelden

Lukas Kranzelbinder

Finally, no list of current Austrian jazz musicians is complete without Lukas Kranzelbinder: the mastermind behind Shake Stew and founding member of Mario Rom’s Interzone has contributed immeasurably to the reputation of Austrian jazz in the last fifteen years or so, both internationally and at home. The warmth and passion of his music and his tirelessness as an organizer and advocate for the scene have been recognized with a number of awards and press accolades – most recently an ORF documentary on Shake Stew, which premiered on April 29th and can be viewed for the next month via the ORF homepage.

Upcoming engagements:

• May 20, Interzone feat. Danyèl Waro, Porgy & Bess, Vienna
• May 21, Interzone feat. Danyèl Waro, House of Music, Budapest (HU)
• May 22: Interzone feat. Danyèl Waro, Klagenfurt Festival
• June 1: Shake Stew, Athens Jazz (GR)
• June 5: Shake Stew, Treibhaus, Innsbruck
• June 6: Shake Stew, Erbenhof Restaurant, Weimar (DE)

Available space and time won’t permit us to continue, much as we’d like to – what of Judith Schwarz, Max Nagl, Vincent Pongracz, Golnar Shahyar, and oh, so many more? In spite of ever-present adversity, there’s no doubt that Austrian jazz is in full bloom. In the words of Billy Strayhorn: ever up and onward.
– Philip Yaeger