Verena Nagl

HI5

Drums, guitar, vibes and bass are enough for the guys from the band HI5 to casually tear down limited music genres. Being playful and creative at the same time, they call the audience for adventure and pleasure, playing with ease and freely, something you won't hear every day.

The band uses the term "minimal jazz chamber music" opening a wide spectrum of playful and intellectual possibilities for work. Hence, jazz means a free spirit, the release of ideas typical for performers of this genre. But for them, it's about the meticulous polishing of sophisticated compositions and arrangements, complex and sometimes very intricate structures, close to classical musicians. Building a conceptual bridge between modern jazz and chamber classical music, they draw inspiration from various fields of popular music, including seventies progressive rock, trip-hop, and electronica. Honestly, this music isn't exactly "minimal". Putting it more accurately, it is not torn apart but logical and consistent in development and design, filling both the heart and the brain.

Since 2011, the HI5 quartet has released six albums and played over three hundred concerts at festivals and clubs worldwide. Their journey includes China (where they recorded the current live album Southern Inspection Tour), India, Japan, Mexico, the United States, Canada, and numerous European countries – this year, they perform at the prestigious London Jazz Festival also. Awards: Joe Zawinul Prize 2012, Jimmy Woode European Jazz Award 2013, winners of the Bucharest International Jazz Competition 2013.

http://hi5music.at/