"Sophie Hassfurther stands as a vibrant force in the contemporary improvised music scene, seamlessly merging both classical and jazz backgrounds with her deep commitment to improvisation and experimentation. Based in Vienna, she is an accomplished performer on saxophone, flute, and clarinet, and is equally active as a composer, bandleader, and collaborator. Her work moves fluidly between composition and improvisation, exploring sound as a space for dialogue, risk, and transformation.

Raised in the serene countryside near Salzburg, Sophie was immersed in music from a young age. She went on to study at some of the world's top music institutions in Amsterdam, Vienna and New York, where she developed a distinctive musical style. Her sound is unmistakable, with an impressive range from rich, full-bodied tones to sharp, incisive passages.

Over the past years, Hassfurther has become an important presence within the European improvised music scene. She has received multiple grants and composition scholarships from the Austrian Federal Chancellery and the City of Vienna, and her work has been presented at festivals including Wien Modern, Basklarinet Festijn in Rotterdam and Germany's Moers Festival, and she regularly creates music for theatre and interdisciplinary productions.

In recent years, her artistic network has expanded strongly across France, the Netherlands and Germany through collaborations with prominent figures in the European avantgarde and improvisation scene. She performs with the transnational ensemble Vostok alongside Vincent Courtois, Guus Janssen, and Fie Schouten. Her long-standing collaboration with Amsterdam-based bass clarinetist Oğuz Büyükberber led to the critically acclaimed duo project Mind Like Water, while more recent projects include collaborations with German saxophonist Frank Gratkowski, drummer Sofia Borges and clarinetist Fie Schouten.

Alongside these international collaborations, she continues to develop her own large-ensemble work through the cross-generational octet Kaleidoscope, bringing together musicians from Austria and abroad in a vibrant exploration of contemporary composition and collective improvisation.

As both a leader and ensemble musician, Hassfurther is recognized for performances that combine emotional depth with fearless improvisational interplay. Publications including Jazz Podium, London Jazz News, and ORF Ö1 have praised the intensity, subtlety, and authenticity of her artistic voice. Her discography spans projects ranging from contemporary chamber jazz to experimental and cross-genre collaborations, consistently reflecting a curiosity for new forms, sounds, and artistic encounters.

Driven by curiosity, collaboration, and a deep commitment to artistic exploration, Sophie Hassfurther continues to expand the possibilities of improvised music, creating work that is adventurous, socially aware, and deeply human."

-Sophie Hassfurther Website (https://sophiehassfurther.com/about/)
10/21/2026

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German saxophonist, composer, and educator Markus Harm was born in Stuttgart in 1987 and studied jazz saxophone at the University of Music Nuremberg. Since 2022, he has served as professor of jazz saxophone at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. A versatile performer working across contemporary jazz and large-ensemble music, he leads his own quartet and has collaborated with Rebecca Trescher's ensembles, the Tobias Becker Big Band, the SWR Big Band, and the UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra. His playing combines a strong melodic approach with the flexibility required for contemporary composition and improvisation.

-Squidco 10/21/2026

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"Susanna Gartmayer studied painting and printmaking and is self trained in bass clarinet and composition.

She is part of many ensembles of elusive musical genres, for example the experimental rock band Broken.Heart.Collector or The Vegetable Orchestra (music for instruments made of out of vegetables). She is participating in the SHAPE platform with three different projects.

Solo

2015 saw the release of Gartmayer's debut solo recording, AOUIE. In this album, mouth cavity shapes and vowel sounds, necessary for multiphonic wind instrument playing and the shift of overtones were the starting point for a multidimensional journey into the bass clarinet's sound. The Guardian wrote: "Bass clarinetist Susanna Gartmayer is a mainstay of the Viennese improvised music scene and AOUIE, her debut solo release, is long overdue.(....) This piece opens with cascading note patterns - a springboard for Gartmayer to indulge in her wonderland harmonies and her palette of flinty percussive clicks and spits."

Gartmayer's live show, based on this album, is played without amplification. She exhibits the same attention to detail - the setup for each tune is slightly different, taking into account the way the audience is sitting as well as venue acoustics and the playing position she wishes to adopt.

Möström

The trio Möström was formed in 2010 and consists of Gartmayer, Tamara Wilhelm (DIY electronics) and Elise Mory (keys). The group is specifically interested in weird sound worlds and their humorous potential, as well as playing with stereotypes. Comments about their debut album range from "genre defying", to "barking mad, laugh out loud even". Michelle Foster of The Quietus concluded her album review with the following words: "For those who will come to it open-minded and brave enough to embrace the darkness with the light, the known and the unknown, Möström's debut album is an endless journey of inspiration."

Duo with Brigitta Bödenauer

As of 2012, Susanna has often worked with Brigitta Bödenauer, who has been active in Vienna's noise and experimental music and film scene since the early '90s. Their collaborative work focuses on abstract soundscapes and polyrhythmic figures as well as stage performances as a visual statement. The duo's debut album is coming soon."

Susanna Gartmayer website

-Shape Platform (https://shapeplatform.eu/artist/susanna-gartmayer/)
10/21/2026

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Serbian trumpeter and composer Nikola Vukovic was born in Belgrade in 1995 and studied classical music before moving to Graz in 2013 to study jazz trumpet with Jim Rotondi. His work encompasses contemporary jazz, free improvisation, and experimental composition, including performances on conventional and prepared pocket trumpet. Active across Austria and southeastern Europe, he has led his own sextet and participated in projects including the Wherewhen Collective, Daniel Holzleitner's Comprovisition Project, and Sophie Hassfurther's Kaleidoscope ensemble, exploring connections between written composition and spontaneous musical interaction.

-Squidco 10/21/2026

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Austrian trombonist, composer, and arranger Mario Vavti was born in Klagenfurt in 1973 and studied in Austria and the Netherlands before continuing his musical development with Ed Neumeister in Graz. Based in Vienna since 2004, he has established a diverse career spanning contemporary jazz, big-band performance, and improvisation, working with musicians including Toots Thielemans, Nenad Vasilic, and Karlheinz Miklin. In 2012 he founded the trio Ride the Slide with bassist Stefan Thaler and drummer Harry Tanschek, and has contributed to ensembles including the Jazz Big Band Graz and Sophie Hassfurther's Kaleidoscope.

-Squidco 10/21/2026

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Vienna-based guitarist, composer, and improviser Kenji Herbert grew up in Osaka and Kobe, Japan, and spent a decade working in New York's creative music community. He studied with Wolfgang Muthspiel in Basel and Mick Goodrick at Berklee College of Music, developing an approach that brings together contemporary jazz, experimental improvisation, ambient textures, and influences from independent rock. His recordings include The Way the Light Falls, As If For Now, and A Million Forests of the Fall, the latter receiving the Austrian Jazz Prize for Album of the Year. He also performs with bassist Peter Herbert in The Scruffy Herberts and has collaborated with Arooj Aftab, Susanna Gartmayer, and numerous international improvisers.

-Squidco 10/21/2026

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"Peter Herbert: Born Leap Day of 1960 in Bludenz, AustriaBassist Peter Herbert has been living in Paris since 2003 (in New York from 1989-2003) and leads a busy schedule with an average of 100 concerts annually performing throughout the world.Trained as a classical pianist/bassist, after years of successful 'main stream' jazz activities, he is now developing his own voice in the field of improvised music. Recent activities include solo concerts, in 2002 in New York (Glassfarm), London (The Vortex), Moscow (The Dome), Vienna (Porgy&Bess), a.m.o. (CD: 'Naked Bass' ) and a focus on small ensembles like his duos with David Tronzo (CD: Segmente, AZM 1001), Carol Robinson (bass-clarinette/electronics) or his Parisian Trio with Jean-Charles Richard (sax) and Christophe Marguet(dr), He is also involved in arabic music with artists like oud-master Marcel Khalife or Simon Shaheen.Herbert is also a prolific and versatile composer, mostly commissioned by European orchestras and ensembles. He has written for orchestras, choirs and chamber groups, designed experimental movie soundtracks and incidental music for European avant-garde theatre groups (Cd:Aktionstheater Ensemble 2000 music for theater, AZM 102).As a Jazz musician, he has worked with many artists and groups such as the John Abercrombie/Marc Copland Quartet, Bobby Previte's "The Horse", John Clark Octet, Art Farmer and Woody Shaw. His work has been well documented on over 120 recordings (please see COMPLETE DISCOGRAPHY).Herbert was recently awarded the Hans Koller-prize as 'musician of the year' This prize is given to a jury chosen person, who had 'significant impact on the Austrian music scene for a long time'. He also established his own internet-based label Aziza Music in 1999."-Aziza Music (http://www.azizamusic.com/bio.html)
10/21/2026

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Austrian drummer, composer, and improviser Valentin Duit was born in Klosterneuburg in 1992 and works across contemporary jazz, free improvisation, and experimental music. Known for his exploration of extended percussion techniques and unconventional rhythmic structures, he released the solo drum album Mashevene in 2018 and the electronic EP Ese-Udu in 2019. His collaborations include Dsilton, the Vienna Improvisers Orchestra, the Tobias Meissl Trio, and Georg Graewe's Sonic Fiction Orchestra. He also leads the Valentin Duit Quartet, whose recording SINN/ist explores the relationship between composition and collective improvisation.

-Squidco 10/21/2026

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