GEORG BREINSCHMID

Georg Breinschmid was born in 1973 and lives in Vienna. He is one of the leading Austrian jazz musicians.

Breinschmid studied classical bass at Vienna University. As a student he worked as a substitute in the big Viennese orchestras, and also played chamber music with orchestras such as the Amadeus–Ensemble, Ensemble Kontrapunkte and Die Reihe. At the same time he started out as a jazz musician, cooperating with the violinist Zipflo Weinrich.

From 1996 to 1998 he was a member of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

Quite soon he decided to turn his back on a career as a classical orchestra musician and to dedicate himself fully to jazz.

In 1999 he became a freelance jazz musician, excelling as one of the most versatile and virtuoso bass players on the international jazz scene. He worked with Archie Shepp, Charlie Mariano, Kenny Drew Jr., Biréli Lagrène, Wolfgang Muthspiel, the Vienna Art Orchestra, Triology, Megablast and many others.

Since 2005 Georg Breinschmid has increasingly made his mark as a composer. His compositions are also performed by other groups, such as Ensemble Amarcord Wien, the duo Bach & Bosnisch, or the Ensemble Bass Instinct.

In 2007 and 2009 Georg Breinschmid was nominated for the Hans Koller-Prize as “Musician of the year”, in 2007 as the bassist of the Christian Muthspiel Trio also for the “CD of the year”.

The double DVD “Georg Breinschmid Live“ and the double CD set “Brein’s World“, which has garnered much critical acclaim in Europe and overseas, was released in 2010. In May 2010, Georg Breinschmid and his trio Brein’s Café performed at the opening of the Vienna Festival, which was seen live on television by millions of viewers all over Europe. He also appeared on the television shows “Annette Dasch’s Salon“ and the NDR literature matinee “Herbstblätter“, in which Breinschmid and violinist Daniel Hope treated audiences to a variety of original compositions.