Over the years, the paths of Peter Herbert and Josef Novotny crossed countless times. And each time there was a silent agreement in the interplay, as if two “inner metronomes” are synchronised with each other wirelessly and wordlessly. This assumption had to be checked – after all, at some point, you want to be sure. In this unique project, Josef Novotny and Peter Herbert shows that virtuosity does not only consist in playing many notes as possible in a short time, but that accuracy is crucial for bringing things to a point. In other words: precision in free improvisation.

Peter Herbert (acoustic bass) lives in Paris and Vienna and works as a double bass player and composer. With around 100 concerts and thousands of miles a year, he had an eventful artistic life before Corona. The 2001 Hans Koller Prize winner ('Musician of the Year') played as a sought-after 'sideman' with the Marc Copland/John Abercrombie Quartet, Bobby Previte's The Horse, John Clark Octet, Robin Eubank's 'Mental Images', or with Marcel Caliphs. His work in this field is well documented with more than 180 recordings (including Paul Simon). Peter Herbert is a versatile composer (e.g. opera Trans-Maghreb, Bregenz Festival 2014). In 1999 he established his own Internet record label Aziza Music. Since 2007 Peter Herbert has been teaching a small double bass class at the JIM of the Anton Bruckner Private University in Linz.

Josef Novotny (piano & electronics) studied organ with Peter Planyavsky and composition with Erich Urbanner at the Vienna Music University. He is a composer, sound designer, electronics engineer and musician and moves musically between jazz and new music, between composition and improvisation. "Someone who swings the hammer in order to then make music from it using complicated computer programs" (Ernst Mitter, freiStil #100, 2022). Since 1992, Novotny takes part in numerous international festivals and played on over 40 releases. He has worked with Max Nagl, Burkhard Stangl, Thomas Lehn, hans w. koch, Katharina Klement, Hannes Loeschel, Franz Hautzinger, John Russell, David Tronzo, Gerry Hemingway, Tony Buck, Jonas Hellborg, Aktionstheater Ensemble, Tanzfabrik Wien, among others.