kelomat was founded by the saxophonist wolfgang schiftner in spring 2002. jamming with him are bernd satzinger on the double-bass and herbert pirker on the drums. they have appeared in: new york city, washington d.c., london, vienna jazz-festival, porgy and bess jazzclub, as well as in numerous austrian clubs. ‘the kelomat ensemble '" recent winner of the austrian young lions award 2003 '" are known for their own form of traditional and improvised jazz. the music of kelomat is modern avant-garde jazz, that relies on art and cynicism, all means of improvisation, constant interaction, and mostly delight in playing. novel arrangements, reharmonization, new sounds, and the release from fundamental harmonic structures are the characteristic elements of kelomat´s musical outlook. unlike kelomat, few young musicians like to admit that their music follows a pattern, but still allows their own musical diction to ring through. wherever the improvisational journey of kelomat begins, their use of the most unlikely idioms always leads the trio to that essential place: pure musicality. wolfgang schiftner´s compositions are characterized by musical contrasts, free and organized music, dissonance and harmony. he never sets foot on the ground of the musical foreseeable.’ (the washington post) ‘kelomat´s music moves on the borderline between composition and improvisation, with a clear austrian edge to it, mixing alpine songs with complex rhythms and puts ironic fun into some serious jazz.’ (the vortex '" london) ‘the young jazz musicians of ‘kelomat’ lived up to their name and heated up the london audience. wolfgang schiftner, bernd satzinger and herbert pirker of kelomat rank among the musicians of their generation whose music is reminiscent of their paragons, but who have already developed their own musical language.’ (mica) wolfgang schiftner (born in Vienna in 1982) started taking saxophone classes at the age of ten. he has been studying under klaus dickbauer at the university of music and performing arts vienna since 2002. he was also instructed by wolfgang puschnig, michael erian, and ernst wallisch. collaboration with: harry pepl, uli scherer, robi tigrics, saxophonquartett phoen, marynade, robert bachner, mickey dread and the dread all-stars, flip philipp, xalis, uli soyka, ska-lite-express. bernd satzinger (born in vienna in 1977) completed his studies in double-bass and electric bass under albert kreuzer and willi langer at the university of music and performing arts vienna. he also took classes under peter herbert, georg breinschmid, achim tang, helene labarriere, and jamaaladeen tacuma. collaboration with: carl panuzzo, marynade, flip philipp, maja osojnik trio, groundlift, low frequency orchestra herbert pirker (born in hof an der saale in 1981) started playing the drums at the age of six. since 1999 he has been studying under walter grassmann at the vienna conservatory. he took additional classes under christian saalfellner, alex deutsch, allen purves, harold jones, and jojo mayer. collaboration with: karl ritter, kurt ostbahn und combo, harry soyka, peter herbert, monika trotz, flip philipp, bumpfi und die tanzbären, lorenz raab