FELIX biller

Born in Rosenheim, Bavaria, Germany, Felix Biller began his musical education at the age of four. Over the years he learned many instruments such as guitar and saxophone but the piano always remained his instrument of choice and mastery. Through his classical training, he acquired an excellent technique; his willingness to experiment and his efforts to move outside of the usual conventions made him look for new inspiration and possibilities for his own artistic development.

Biller is a committed learner and teacher at the same time. After graduating with a BA in musicology and an MA in music management, he continued his musical education as part of a jazz piano course at the University of Music and Performing Arts in the Austrian capital of Vienna, where he now lives and works. As an educator, he enjoys working with people of different ages and backgrounds, which is made possible through his teaching activities, including in private settings.

While Biller is patient and systematic as a teacher, as a musician he is exuberant and charismatic. He is open to new ideas and influences: he believes that an improvisation session with a student can be just as inspiring as a classical composition by Johann Sebastian Bach. Esbjörn Svensson, the Neil Cowley Trio, Brad Mehldau, The Bad Plus, John Cage, and others serve as sources of inspiration for his compositions. Through the skillful combination of the most diverse musical concepts, Biller manages the tightrope act between intellect and emotions and his live performances are a real pleasure for both.

His main artistic focus is working with his trio PRIM, founded in 2015. Their latest album, Garnet Tales (2020, Alessa Records), has received rave reviews with descriptions ranging from ‘sharp’ to ‘bold’. Biller is portrayed as “the driving force behind this trio, not shying away from adventurous and improvised jazz” (Jazzflits, NL). The band was invited as one of the selected ensembles to the “Central European Jazz Showcase” 2021 in Brno (CZ) and has already been enthusiastically received in many places.

In addition, he actively supports the music scene in management functions. Since 2018 he has been a member of the management of the workshop and festival “NYC Musikmarathon” in Mattighofen (Upper Austria). He is also a frequent guest on radio, TV, and other formats worldwide and can be heard there musically (Ö1, Jazz FM, Radio Wroclaw, Radio ARA, KAN in Israel, WartaJazz in Indonesia, JazzonPRX in the USA). With his composition “Demon Crazy?” he is a finalist at the “Austrian Composers Young Jazz Award 2022″. His musical activities, which have taken him across Europe (Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland), to Turkey, the USA, and China, also include collaborations with choirs such as the Philharmonic Choir Vienna”, masterclasses, and workshops (including invitations to “Pop-KulturJugendung” Berlin 2017 and “Intl. Jazz Platform Footprints Edition 2021” Lodz), “Allesandersplatz” 2020 by Isis Rampf with co-composer Christoph Karas and premiere at the Achtung Berlin Film Festival in 2021 including a nomination in the section “Berlin Spotlights”).

For more information about Felix, visit his website.