With “Interactions”, the Tyrolean State Museums are presenting their third jazz production – and once again we are combining discussion and live music in the presentation.
The focus is on guitarist Roland Heinz, one of the greats of the local jazz scene: he can look back on a 50-year international career and can justifiably be described as a “Tyrolean pioneer”, even though he never pushed himself to the fore and decided to leave Tyrol early on. Roland Heinz’s outstanding musical qualities are particularly evident in his ensemble playing; his strength lies in interaction. The CD “Interactions” combines studio and concert recordings from the years 2023 and 2024 and shows the full range and versatility of Roland Heinz – as a duo, in two different trio formations and in the experimental field. Roland Heinz began playing the guitar as an autodidact at the age of 17. In 1981, he moved to Vienna, where he worked with his own trio. In 1986 he was given the opportunity to play in a quintet with Pony Poindexter in Munich; later he worked in a quartet with Barre Philips, Leszek Zadlo and Billy Elgart and recorded his debut “Heavy Mental” (1991). He went to New York to study at the Vermont Jazz Center with John Abercrombie and Attila Zoller and subsequently collaborated with many renowned jazz musicians. He taught improvisation at the Tyrolean State Conservatory for 23 years and now lives alternately in Tyrol and Portugal.