Faces of Night David Helbock & Julia Hofer

• 1 Woman's Dance - Version 1 03:03
• 2 Dancing to Another Space 02:20
• 3 Dark Soul 04:18
• 4 Purple Rain 04:04
• 5 Night Dances 04:48
• 6 Song of a Dream 04:33
• 7 Freedom Jazz Dance 03:06
• 8 Clara's Romance 04:56
• 9 Theme from Schumann's Piano Concerto 04:35
• 10 Sexy M.F. 02:40
• 11 Round Midnight 05:33
• 12 Woman's Dance - Version 2 02:44
• Total Runtime 46:40

Info for Faces of Night

Pianist David Helbock, bassist and cellist Julia Hofer have things in common: a playful curiosity combined with the urge to try out new things and to have fun. Both of these Austrians are also perfectionists...and natural communicators...and that’s why their musical combination works so well. “I was looking for a new duo partner,” says David Helbock, "because although I am completely passionate about my ‘Austrian Syndicate’ project, it's a really tricky thing to put together, a large band...lots of keyboards. Together with ACT CEO and producer Andreas Brandis, the idea of an acoustic duo reduced to its emotional essence was finally born - a format in which musical communication works more directly than in any other line-up. And I quickly came across Julia Hofer. What particularly attracted me to her was her versatility - and the wealth of possibilities that this opens up. I was immediately fascinated by her energy from the very first rehearsal. You can tell she enjoys the music from the very first note she plays and that motivated me enormously and is also very infectious."

Julia Hofer’s career as an artist has reversed the normal order of things. Musicians usually learn their craft, tour everywhere, maybe become well-known, and only then do they settle down and start teaching. Hofer was already making a series of teaching videos for the online music retailer Thomann while studying for her master's degree at the Popakademie Mannheim – her first degree had been in Vienna. The videos had an impact and received millions of views. She now has teaching posts in Klagenfurt and Vienna, as well as being part of the team at the Vereinigte Bühnen in Vienna.

Julia Hofer is a go-to bassist on the Austrian scene. From a musical family and classically trained as a cellist, what stands out above all is her stylistic versatility. Alongside poetic cello playing which can melt the heart, there is a wonderful ease and energy to her groove playing on the bass as well. She covers the whole gamut of pop, funk, and fusion, with repertoire all the way from Earth, Wind & Fire to Jamiroquai and the Yellowjackets. And her method of familiarizing herself with music has never been led by the convenience of sheet music: she listens meticulously, makes her own transcriptions. Her process gets her closer to the originals while simultaneously enabling her to make them truly her own.

No wonder David Helbock is so enthusiastic about his new duo partner. After all, the pianist and composer from Vorarlbeberg in the West of Austria has a relationship with the piano which can often turn cheerfully acrobatic. Through his trio Random Control, Helbock’s profile became established as a genuine boundary-breaker with virtuosity – and humour too. Albums such as “Playing John Williams” (2019) and “Austrian Syndicate” (2023) anchor him not just as a pianist in a chamber music setting, they also demonstrate the jazz-rock power he brings to neo-fusion. David Helbock is one of the most versatile musicians in the Austrian music world. And he loves duos, notably “Playground” (2022) with singer Camille Bertault, which has taken them on triumphant tours of the European club and festival circuit.

In “Faces Of Night” with Julia Hofer, we find Helbock taking on an even wider stylistic range. The album's repertoire includes songs by Prince as well as Thelonious Monk's “Round Midnight,” a cello-hued version of George Gurdjieff's “Woman's Dance,” a soul-funk interpretation of Eddie Harris’ “Freedom Jazz Dance,” and a surprising adaptation of motifs from Robert Schumann's A minor Piano Concerto. "We tried out working with effects and electronics at the beginning, but found that we were using them less and less. Now it's an almost entirely acoustic album, except for the electric bass. And we’ve really rehearsed and tried out lots of different things. It’s been a delightful process.”

A few guests have joined the duo, including soulful and lyrical trumpeter Lorenz Raab, with whom David Helbock has been playing for two decades, and singer Veronika Harcsa, also a long-time acquaintance, who scats on “Freedom Jazz Dance” and brings something totally unexpected to Monk: lyrics in Hungarian. “I've also been wanting to do something with Mahan Mirarab for a long time. He plays a double-necked guitar, one of which is fretless, and that fits very well with Gurdjeff,” says David Helbock about the second contributor to “Faces Of Night,” – this is a new collaboration.

And so, we find on ‘Faces Of Night’ a team, completed by producer Andreas Brandis, which is notable for its energy, its live-wire intercommunication and its sense of unfettered adventure – all of which came together in the studio. At the epicentre, Julia Hofer plays with astonishing openness and precision, with the inspired David Helbock as her ideal counterweight. The guests – Harcsa, Mirarab, Raab – expand the foundation and take the music beyond this constellation with new colors. “In the end, it all fits well with the title ‘Faces Of Night.’ For me, the night is a border zone where opposites are possible and complement each other.” These faces of the night open the gates for a new duo whose entrance into the music world comes in the form a debut album positively brimming with enthusiasm and energy.

David Helbock, piano
Julia Hofer, electric bass, fretless bass, cello
Guests:
Lorenz Raab, flugelhorn
Mahan Mirarab, guitar
Veronika Harcsa, vocals

Recorded on May 20th and 21st at Wavegarden Studio, Mitterretzbach, Austria
Recorded and mixed by Werner Angerer
Mastered by Klaus Scheuermann
Produced by Andreas Brandis & David Helbock

David Helbock
born 1984 in Vorarlberg, Austria, began playing the piano at the age of six. After several years of piano lessons at the Feldkirch Music School and at the Jazz Seminar Dornbirn, he transferred to the Feldkirch Conservatory in 1998 to study classical piano under the guidance of Prof. Ferenc Bognar, where he graduated with honors in concert piano in 2005. In addition, from 2000 to 2008, David Helbock received lessons from New York jazz pianist Peter Madsen (known for his work with Stan Getz, Joe Lovano, Fred Wesley, and others), who became his teacher, mentor, and friend. They continue to play together in Madsen's ensemble "Collective of Improvising Artists (CIA)" and founded the joint project "Austrian Syndicate" in 2023. View fullsize

During this time, David Helbock also received instruction from Fuat Kent (a student of the renowned contemporary composer George Crumb) and developed his distinctive "Inside Piano" playing style.

David Helbock is a prize winner of the world's largest jazz piano solo competition at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland in 2007 and 2010, including wining the Audience Award. In 2011, he was awarded the "Outstanding Artist Award," Austria's most prestigious artistic grant.

Throughout his career as a musician, David Helbock has been actively composing. In addition to commissioned compositions for string orchestras, chamber music, choirs, and big bands, he completed a major "yearly composition project," in which he composed a new piece every day for a year. In early 2010, he published the "Personal Realbook," containing more than 600 pages of music. In 2018, he was awarded the Composition State Scholarship by the Austrian federal government.

David Helbock has released more than 25 albums under his own name as a leader, including five on the Berlin-based label Traumton (from 2010 to 2015). Since 2016, he has been an exclusive artist with the renowned German label "ACT-Music," with seven albums released to date. His debut release with ACT-Music, "Into the Mystic" in 2016, was nominated for the German "Echo Jazz" award. In 2018, he released the second album, "Tour d´Horizon" with his trio Random/Control and in 2019, a solo piano album titled "Playing John Williams."

David Helbock has collaborated with internationally renowned jazz musicians, including a trio album with German jazz musicians Sebastian Studnitzky and Arne Jansen in 2021, and a duo album with French star singer Camille Bertault in 2022.

On the quintet album "Austrian Syndicate," (2023) featuring his former teacher Peter Madsen on piano, David Helbock exclusively plays keyboards and synthesizers. Additionally, guest appearances include Dhafer Youssef, Fred Wesley, Lakecia Benjamin, Maria João and Alex Acuña.

In early 2025, a live album with the trio "Random/Control" featuring Fola Dada (German Jazz Prize 2022) as singer was also released. This album was recorded during one of the legendary "Studio Live Sessions" at Little Big Beat Studio in Liechtenstein.

In September 2025, the 7th album on ACT Music is released — this time a duo album with the young Austrian e-bass player & cellist Julia Hofer and Lorenz Raab (flugelhorn), Veronika Harcsa (vocals) & Mahan Mirarab (guitar) as guests.

Hermeto Pascoal, the Brazilian music legend, was so impressed with David Helbock's album "Think of Two"(2014) with the ensemble "Random/Control" that he composed and recorded a piece specifically for the album in Brazil. Furthermore, David Helbock performed as a soloist with Michael Mantler's "Jazz Composer's Orchestra" in 2014, 2016, 2021 & 2023 participating in several album productions for the prestigious ECM label, where he took on the piano part originally performed by Cecil Taylor on Mantler's legendary 1968 recording.

David Helbock's albums have featured over 200 original compositions, performed worldwide.

David Helbock has performed concerts with his own ensembles in countries such as the USA, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Mongolia, South Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Japan, South Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Israel, Iran, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Australia, and all throughout Europe.

He has showcased his music at renowned festivals, including the Montreux Jazz Festival, Java Jazz Festival Jakarta, Jarasum Jazz Festival Seoul, Melbourne Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, Eurojazz Festival Mexico City, Providencia Jazz Festival Santiago de Chile, all major jazz festivals in Canada (Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa), Jazzaldia San Sebastián, Jazzwochen Burghausen, Jazzbaltica, Moers Festival, Jazzfestival Saalfelden (commissioned composition and opening performance in 2013), to name just a few.

Julia Hofer
completed her bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna under Willi Langer and Gina Schwarz. During her bachelor's studies, she also completed an Erasmus semester at the Cologne University of Music and Dance under Marius Goldhammer and a further master's degree at the Popakademie Baden-Württemberg under Frank Itt. Since 2021, she has been a permanent fixture at the Vereinigte Bühnen Wien (United Stages Vienna) and has been producing interviews, playing, and lesson videos for the Thomann YouTube channel since 2018. Her interview partners include Marcus Miller, Billy Sheehan, Richard Bona, and Michael League. As a live and studio musician, she has established herself internationally in a wide variety of styles in recent years. Highlights have included the wdr EM Studio Live Band, a band member of Frank Schätzing, Martin Verdonk Mastersessions, Filous, Wenzel Beck, Mike Marshall, and her collaboration with Bootsy Collins.

Booklet for Faces of Night