Herbert Pixner Projekt

Austrian quartet Herbert Pixner Projekt balance traditional and modern forms, performing an intimate, spirited hybrid of Alpine folk music and chamber jazz, as well as tango, blues, flamenco, and other genres. The group debuted with the 2006 full-length Blus'n Auf!, and became increasingly prolific during the following decade, continuing to explore various sounds and moods through several studio albums and live recordings. Following 2018's Lost Elysion, an excursion into neo-classical rock, the band released the orchestral performance albums Symphonic Alps Live (2020) and Symphonic Alps Plugged In (2021). Herbert Pixner was born in 1975 in Merano, Italy, and was raised on a farm in a small South Tyrolean village. He first learned to play clarinet, followed by percussion, Styrian harmonica (a diatomic button accordion), and later tuba and flügelhorn. He played in numerous orchestras and folk groups, and released his first solo album, Frischgepresst, on Austrian label Aktiv Sound Studio in 2002. Two songs featured harp playing by his sister, Heidi Pixner. The two formed Herbert Pixner Trio with bassist Werner Unterlercher, and released Frischgepresst II in 2005. Guitarist Manuel Randi began playing with them, and Herbert Pixner Projekt was established. The quartet released their first full-length, Blus'n Auf!, in 2006, and holiday album Frohes Fest! was issued in 2007. Bauern_Tschäss [Power'n Jazz] appeared in 2010, followed by Na Und?! in 2012. Pixner launched the neo-volksmusik label Three Saints Records in 2014, and the Projekt became considerably more prolific. They released the studio album Quattro and Live Im Konzerthaus Wien 2013, as well as Schnee Von Gestern, a double CD including a story read by actor Charly Rabanser. Two Projekt albums, Volksmusik! and Summer, appeared in 2016. Live on Tour was released in 2017, and the group issued Blackboard Edition, a limited compilation of their first four Three Saints releases. Lost Elysion, an ambitious mixture of rock, blues, classical, and polka, was released by Geco Tonwaren in 2018. The Projekt collaborated with the Berliner Symphoniker for the 2020 release Symphonic Alps Live. This was followed by 2021's Symphonic Alps Plugged In, with Tonkünstler Orchester and Herbert Pichler.
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