Michaela Rabitsch, singer, composer and Austria’s only and top female jazz trumpet player is called a modern day female Chet Baker by the US magazine Jazzscene. Together with her ingenious partner, composer and incredible fluid guitarist Robert Pawlik, she co leads their quartet and duo.
With Gimme The Groove, they present their 6th common studio release and celebrate their jubilee 20 years together on the road. The tunes root on the one hand in the melodic stiles of the Jazz tradition, like Hardbop, Swing, Modern Jazz, New Orleans Second Line and Blues, and, on the other hand, form fusions with elements of Indian, African or Latin American music.
Their songs are inspired by their numerous tours of the last years through Europe, Asia, the Americas and Africa, with 1500 concerts in 50 countries, playing in intimate Jazz clubs as well as on big stages and at international festivals – from Tokyo to Teheran, Kuala Lumpur to Yerevan, Cape Town to Delhi, Shanghai to Almaty, Hong Kong to Cracow, Havana to Moscow, Chicago to Ottawa, Penang Island to Ankara…
Vienna’s “first couple of Jazz“ presents a diversified and sophisticated musical experience extraordinaire, with their signature sound of Jazz spiced up with a touch of World!
They are presenting jazz with catchy melodies, strong harmonies, groovy rhythms and adventorious improvisations in a fine balanced vocal- instrumental mix. With brilliant instrumental technic and a silky velvet voice they are clothing their songs into a trendy, smooth-cool jazzrobe.
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“Voyagers“ is their 4th common CD and a program, inspired by their numerous tours of the last years through Europe, Asia, Africa and America. The (musical) impressions are reflected in their compositions and guarantee a deversified and multi- variant musical experience. (National) musical elements of different countries or ethnic groups influence the compositions or inspire the tunes. Weather with African rhythms or flamenco touch, Cuban fire or Balkan grooves – every song has that certain something, without denying the hallmarks of both leaders. Recent tours to Morocco, Senegal, India and Malaysia led to cooperations with local musiciens and to contacts with Westafrican, Arab or Berber musical cultur, like the Gnaoua music of the Berber from Essaouira or the sophisticated Indian music. Under the motto „diversity instead of simplemindness“ they pick off the most interesting elements and inspirations from different musical cultures and contrast them with their own musical background and create a refreshing new musical melange.
Their previous release Moods has Rabitsch and Pawlik emerging as the new face of Austrian jazz. This album presents ten songs that reflect the passion, energy and emotions of their life and is their first recording with exclusively original compositions presented by both leaders, reflecting the core of their current work. It earned them not only raving reviews, but opened the doors to perform at highly prestigious international Jazz Festivals, concert halls and clubs.
Together they performed at festivals & concerts on 4 continents and in nearly 50 countries. They were the first Austrian band to be invited to perform at Cape Town International Jazz Festival, South Africa – one of the leading jazz festivals worldwide, sharing the stage there with George Benson, McCoy Tyner, Regina Carter, Toots Thielemans or Jonathan Butler. Other important festival appearances: Tokyo Jazz Festival, Int. Jazz Festival Nisville, Jazz au Chellah (Morocco), TANJazz (Morocco), Bansko Jazz Festival (Bulgaria), Festival Lent (Slowenia), International Jazz Festival Sibiu (Romania), Jazz at the Hermitage Garden (Moscow), Jazzfestwoche Burghausen, Int. Jazzfestival Ankara, Jazz Utsav Delhi, Int. Penang Island jazz Festival (Malaysia), Krakow Summer Jazzfestival (Poland), Kuala Lumpur Jazz Festival (Malaysia), Int. Jazz Festival Athens, (Technopolis - Greece), Jarasum Jazz Festival (Korea) and many more. Besides extensive tours to China, Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Israel, Italy, Serbia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Greece, Russia, Iran, Hungary, Poland, Senegal, Morocco, Luxembourg, Malta, India, Malaysia, Turkey, Bosnia, Kuwait, Qatar, The Philippines, Kazakhstan, Kyrgistan, Kenia, Albania, Armenia, Algeria, Spain, Kuba, Macedonia, South Africa, USA, Canada, Korea, Vietnam and Japan they are ever-present with appearances in Austrias leading clubs like Porgy & Bess, Joe Zawinul’s Birdland or Radiokulturhaus Wien and perform regularly concerts and festivals in Vienna and the rest of Austria (Salburger Festspiele, Jazz Fest Wien, Most & Jazz, ....)
For more than twenty years now they have shared their private and musical lives, playing together in their jazz quartet and their acoustic duo, writing for both groups and playing concert tours together. The fact that they studied extensively the Jazz repertoire and a lot of Jazz related music genres gives them a rich musical vocabulary to draw from. Listening to their music will always bring new horizons to your listening palette.
Together they have developed a rich and eventful style, never trying to be purist’s only, but always looking for the core message of each song they are writing or playing, and how they can express it best.
The fact, that Michaela is a trumpet player and singer at the same time gives her an extra venue of possibilities inexpression and interpretation. “The choice between instrumental and vocal expression or moving between trumpet and vocals in one song helps me to get to the essence of each tune and it’s mood.”
Michaela is a graduate of the Anton Bruckner Private University Linz and studied with Peter Tuscher, Ingrid Jensen, Fritz Handlbauer, Adelhard Roidinger, Harry Sokal, Christian Muthspiel, ….
Robert is a graduate of the the conservatory of Vienna and at the American Institute of Music and studied with Peter Legat, Karl Ratzer, Claus Spechtl, Les Wise, Wayne Brasel…
Michaela and Robert live in Vienna, together with their twins Fabian and Valerie (born 1999).
From Austria they come and this trumpet/guitar led crew just might conquer the world with their sound. (Chris Spector, Midwest Record Recap, USA)
Gear
trumpet (JBS, handmade), flugelhorn (JBS, handmade)
Microphones (Live): EV RE20, Neumann KMS 104 plus
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