Born in Lower Austria in 1971, Herbert Könighofer commenced his professional career as a musician at Eisenstadt’s military music. After a year abroad as sax-player of Alabamas Soul Band on Tenerife, Könighofer returned to Austria in order to collaborate in and establish various projects, such as Joruma, Jesus Christ Smokes Holy Gasoline, Blaumarot, the black hakawati, Herby King Jazz Quartet, or ZAVS.
In the end of the 1990s, Könighofer began to focus on the city of Salzburg, where – together with other artists – he created bands such as k3, or the concert-series AIGENtlich Jazz.
With the band the merry poppins, Könighofer travelled the world from A as in Almaty to Z as in Zurich and could gain artistic inspiration from intercultural exchanges with artists in Asia, Europe, Northern Africa or the Middle East.
These times are mainly documented in films such as Sina Moser’s artist portrait I und…, Lost and Found Tour on k3 goes India, or club videoprovocateur‘s the merry poppins Central Asia Tour 2013 – the band. the trip. the film. Herbert Könighofer furthermore contributed film-scores to projects such as Meeting Phuntsok Lhamo, a.o.
Ever since 2012, Herbert Könighofer has been working on the project Brian Brain – club audioprovocateur and has invited serveral international and local musicians to the club, among them Sina Moser, Ranajit Sengupta, Sucheta Ganguly, Prabir Kumar Mitra, Franz Lirsch, Courtney Jones, Arno Briggman, Peter Kronreif, Chris Kronreif, Camillo Jenny, Jeff Bouderaux, Marc Osterer and many more.
2015 onward, Herbert Könighofer has been focusing on the project Moon on High with the Austrian pianist Hannah Eisendle and Taiwanese counter-tenor and lutist Cheng-Ying Chuang and on the duo project the Hille – Könighofer Experience with Sid Hille .
In 2020, Herbert Könighofer teamed up with H.A.U.S. and has contributed to the artistic and scientific examination of A.I. with his tunes, e.g. at Steirischer Herbst 2021.
Herbert Könighofer has contributed his music to the genre-transcending performances and Holocaust memorial pieces Mind Crossing by Tal Gur and Jasmin Avissar as well as Broken Pieces and More Broken Pieces by Alexandra Ben-Abba (2023/24).
As of lately, Könighofer focuses on his collaboration (including touring, teaching, composing, recording) with the Finnish avantgarde trio F#, on organizing community-based concerts and various (lecture-) performances, on composing scores for his new instruments, such as an avantgarde slide-saxophone, and performs with his local projects JOYGURU and Brian Brain – club audioprovocateur’s different formations.
