biography

Herbert Pirker is a professional drummer based in Vienna.

Born (1981) and raised in the bucolic countryside of Styria he started playing drums at the age of six and since then never stopped banging these beautiful instruments. After graduating from school (1999) he relocated to vienna where he started to study jazz drums at the Conservatory of the City of Vienna with Walter Grassmann. When Herbert finished his studies with distinction in 2004 he already was an integral part of Vienna’s creative music scene.

Since then Herbert has been touring countries such as the USA, Russia, Morocco, Kirgistan,  Kasachstan, Turkey, as well as all over Europe.

He has been awarded the following distinctions:

    - 2003 Austrian Young Lions Award  (with the „Martin Reiter Trio“)

    - 2004  Austrian Young Lions Award  (with the band „Kelomat“)

    - 2004 NewYork Scholarship of the Hans Koller Prize

    - 2007 Hans Koller Prize in the category Newcomer (with  Jazzwerkstatt Wien)

Herbert also teaches drums at the Anton Bruckner Private University in Linz and at several Austrian jazz workshops.

Herbert has performed and recorded with the following artists/bands:

Alex Machacek, Kelomat, Zeena Parkins,

Wolfgang Mitterer, Louis Sclavis,

Dean Bowman, Karl Ritter, Weisse Waende,

Wolfgang Puschnig, Jack Walrath,

Klaus Dickbauer, Jazzwerkstatt Wien,

Phillip Nykrin, Christoph Dienz,

Linley Marthe, Lorenz Raab,

Otto Lechner, Juraj Kriglak,  Falb Fiction,

Nicholas Letman-Burrtinovic, Perfect,

Bumpfi u.d.Tanzbären (aus der Pro7 TV-Werbung),

Iriepathie, Kurt Ostbahn, the Cosmic Hustlers...

Herbert also produced the new

Lorenz Raab XY Band Album “hyperdrive”