David Helbock


David Helbock is an Austrian jazz musician.
WWW Official SiteFB DavidHelbockYT UCsVuV4UDXSc3puil2-9vJIQ

Music education

Helbock began playing piano at the age of six. After several years of lessons at the music school Feldkirch and at the jazz seminar Dornbirn, he switched to the music high school in Feldkirch in 1998. During school he began to study piano with Ferenc Bognar at the Vorarlberg State Conservatory, where he completed his classical concert diploma in 2005.
Since 2000, Helbock has also taken lessons with the New York jazz pianist Peter Madsen, with whom he also played in his ensemble CIA and more recently formed the Austrian Syndicate.

Activities

With his different musical projects, like the "David Helbock Trio", "David Helbock's Random/Control" and also as a solo artist, Helbock toured all over the planet.
In 2012, Helbock released Purple, an album on which he only covers songs by Prince, such as 1999, Alphabet St. , Kiss and Purple Rain. In 2014, Helbock appeared as a soloist on Michael Mantler's CD The Jazzcomposers Orchestra – Update, released by ECM Records. He also plays on Mantler's albums Comment c'est and Coda.
Since 2010 till 2015 Helbock's CDs as a leader were published on the label Traumton in Berlin.
Since 2016 Helbock is an exclusive artist with the record company ACT Music from Munich. Up to date Helbock released six albums on ACT – "Into the Mystic", "Tour d´Horizon", "Playing John Williams", "The New Cool", "Playground" and "Austrian Syndicate".
In 2025 Helbock released two albums - a live studio session recorded at the "Little Big Beat Studio" in Liechtenstein feat. his longterm trio "Random/Control" feat. the German singer Fola Dada and also his 7th album for ACT - "Faces of Night" in Duo with young Austrian e-bassist & cellist Julia Hofer and guests like Lorenz Raab, Veronika Harcsa & Mahan Mirarab.
In 2010 he released his "Personal Realbook", a compositional project, where he wrote one tune every day for a whole year, inspired by the Brazilian jazz legend Hermeto Pascoal.
Hermeto also contributed a song to Helbock's Album "Think of Two" in 2014.

Awards

Helbock is a prizewinner at the world-biggest Jazzpianosolo Competition in Montreux 2007 and 2010 and also won the audience prize. In 2011 he was awarded the Outstanding Artist Award of the government of Austria.

Selected discography

  • 1998: Happiness
  • 2003: Emotions
  • 2004: Transformation
  • 2006: Celebrating modern Genius
  • 2007: Time
  • 2008: Suite of Philosophical Sounds – SUN RA
  • 2008: All In
  • 2010: My Personal Realbook
  • 2010: Thousand Miles Journey
  • 2010: David Helbock's Random/Control
  • 2011: Diagonal
  • 2012: Purple
  • 2014: Think of Two
  • 2014: What's Next? I Don't Know!
  • 2014: The Jazzcomposers Orchestra – Update
  • 2015: Mistura
  • 2015: Aural Colors
  • 2016: Into the Mystic
  • 2016: Comment Cést
  • 2018: Tour d´Horizon
  • 2019: Playing John Williams
  • 2021: Coda Orchestra Suites
  • 2021: The New Cool
  • 2022: Playground
  • 2023: Austrian Syndicate
  • 2024: Sempre Notte
  • 2025: David Helbock´s Random/Control feat. Fola Dada
  • 2025: ''Faces of Night''