This duo represents another milestone in the close musical collaboration and friendship between saxophonist Fabian Rucker and Philipp Nykrin. The two musicians have known each other since their college days, and in addition to numerous joint performances as sidemen on a wide variety of projects, they have supported each other for many years in their individual solo projects: Nykrin as a pianist on Fabian Rucker 5, and Rucker, in turn, as a saxophonist on Nykrin’s albums *Wire Resistance* and *Songbook*, though on the latter he also distinguished himself through recording, mixing, and production. The debut album of their current joint project, the power jazz quartet Purple Muscle Car, was released in December 2024 on Rucker’s own label, Wave Breeder Records. The music of the more intimate, purely acoustic duo is also shaped by the diverse musical interests of the two musicians: the improvisational freedom of contemporary jazz, the structure and sonic precision of new music, and song structures from pop and rock music are seamlessly woven together in the interplay between these two highly accomplished musicians.

For the final set of this portrait, Philipp Nykrin has assembled his dream quintet: drummer Peter Kronreif, with whom Nykrin has been playing since their school days, is back in the country after fifteen years in the U.S. and collaborations with giants of the New York scene such as the Le Boeuf Brothers, Donny McCaslin, Bette Smith, and Ray Angry. Together with Nykrin and the outstanding bassist and composer Beate Wiesinger—whose ensemble E C H O Boomer was awarded the Austrian Jazz Prize 2024 in the “Best Album” category—he forms a piano trio that is as sensitive as it is explosive. With Mario Rom (trumpet) and Fabian Rucker (reeds, keyboards)—well-known for their work in groups such as Mario Rom’s Interzone and Shake Stew, as well as collaborations with Wolfgang Muthspiel, Dhafer Youssef, and Golnar Shayhar—the quintet is rounded out by a virtuoso duo of lead voices.

The program will feature new material composed by Nykrin for this lineup, as well as music from Nykrin’s album Wire Resistance, which emerged from his opening project for the 2014 Saalfelden Jazz Festival.