Owls
"A Revelation!"
Jazz Magazine (FR)
"A glorious musical journey!"
Mainly Piano (USA)
"classy young piano trio upping the chill factor"
Jazzwise (UK)
"... catchy melodies, interesting harmony and effective dramatic tension"
Zeitschrift für Kultur und Gesellschaft (AUT)
"... a playful labyrinth"
A Closer Listen (UK)
ABOUT
Owls is an Austrian jazz piano trio whose music is rooted in- and aware of the tradition of jazz but transcends stylistic borders in a refreshing and unconventional way. The ensemble’s sound is cinematic and spacious, with sophisticated melodic phrasing and rich harmony floating over the listener in tranquil waves and flurries of energy.
Well-versed in the idioms of modern European jazz, the lines between improvisation and composition are blurred. The trio make extensive use of modern productiontechniques including electroacoustic sound processing, extended techniques including muted piano, looping, and effects processing, as well as the sampling of sounds found in nature, transporting the otherwise traditional trio format into a contemporary textural experience.
Owls' music can be heard and described from different angles - the audiophile approach will always be the red thread.
Simon Oberleitner, piano & electroacoustics
Andreas Waelti, upright bass
Konstantin Kräutler-Horváth, drums & sampling
RECENT PROJECTS
MUSIC
WENDOLINS MONOCLE
(Intersection)
Simon Oberleitner | piano & electroacoustics
David Ambrosch | upright bass
Konstantin Kräutler-Horváth | drums & sampling
feat.
Herbert Walser-Breuß | cornet, trumpet & fx
Klaus Haberl | speech
Veronika Morscher | vocals & speech
CRUMBLING LIGHT
(ATS Records)
Simon Oberleitner | piano
David Ambrosch | upright bass
Konstantin Kräutler-Horváth | drums
JAZZWISE (UK)
"Led by the pianist-composer Simon Oberleitner, this classy young Vienna-based contemporary piano trio draws from the EST legacy while upping the chill factor."
JAZZPODIUM (DE)
„This creates cinema in the listeners mind!“
A CLOSER LISTEN (UK)
"a playful labyrinth"
VALON KUVIA (FIN)
"... although often beautiful in an approachable way, it is so focused and captivating that it rises brightly above the superficial"
VERHOOVENS JAZZ (DE)
"... as if in a shielded realm of calm, transcendence and contemplation, one would like to believe in almost spherical balance"
MUSICAUSTRIA (AUT)
„In a refreshing and unconventional way, Owls transcend stylistic borders and create their own musical language, one of captivating, timeless tonal variety.“
CONCERTO (AUT)
„The outcome of the Owls’ quest is partly intense, partly fragile, yet consistently surrounded by a mysterious aura.“
FILM, SOUND & MEDIA (AUT)
„ ...as a whole it is simply beautiful, relaxed music on a high level “
VOL (AUT)
„ … the musicians dispense an almost irrepressible joy of playing …“
VIDEO
LIVE
2024
DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON
2023
02 March // Kunsthaus Linz (AUT) - POSTPONED
Release Tour »Wendolins Monocle«
28 March // b-flat Berlin (DE) - POSTPONED
Release Tour »Wendolins Monocle«
21 April // Spielboden Dornbirn (AUT)
Release Tour »Wendolins Monocle« feat. Herbert Walser & Veronika Morscher
22 April // Aussichtsreich Möggers (AUT)
Release Tour »Wendolins Monocle« feat. Herbert Walser & Veronika Morscher
06 May // Brückenfestival, Eichgraben (AUT)
»Light Works« with Company of Music and Roos van Haaften (Performance)
20-26 November // India Tour (IND)
Release Tour »Wendolins Monocle«
07 December // Kunsthaus Linz (AUT)
Release Tour »Wendolins Monocle«
// more to come...
PAST
2022
07 January // Neujahrs Jazzfestival, Theater am Saumarkt, Feldkirch (AUT)
feat. Herbert Walser and Veronika Morscher
26 February // Wiener Konzerthaus, Wien (AUT)
»Schatten, Stimmen« with Company of Music and Roos van Haaften (Performance)
05 November // Montforter Zwischentöne, Feldkirch (AUT)
»Schatten, Stimmen« with Company of Music and Roos van Haaften (Performance)
2021
19 March // Die Brücke Graz (AUT) - postponed
Release Tour »Wendolins Monocle«
30 March // Alter Schlachthof Wels (AUT) - postponed
Release Tour »Wendolins Monocle«
31 March // tba, Czech Republic (CZ) - postponed
Release Tour »Wendolins Monocle«
01 April // b flat, Berlin (DE) - postponed
Release Tour »Wendolins Monocle«
03 September // Strenge Kammer - Porgy & Bess, Vienna (AUT)
Release Tour »Wendolins Monocle«
27 November // Montforter Zwischentöne, Feldkirch (AUT) - postponed
»Schatten, Stimmen« with Company of Music and Roos van Haaften (Performance)
2020
10 July // Reigen, Vienna (AUT)
26 July // Poolbarfestival, Feldkirch (AUT)
02 August // Kulturpunkt, Fußach (AUT)