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Alex Pinter

Alex Pinter - guitarist, composer, arranger, educator

About Me

Alex Pinter was born and raised in Graz, started playing the piano at age 5, switched to guitar when he was around 14, and hasn't stopped ever since. He persued a carreer in cancer research (master's degree in genetics and microbiology) at first, but the music obviously had a different plan with him, or as his teacher Mick Goodrick put it: you don‘t choose music, music chooses you. So, while finishing his biology degree, Alex already studied jazz/popular music performance and music education in Vienna. While studying there, he was selected to receive a scholarship for a full-time study program at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston while attending a clinic in Perugia/Italy, where Alex also played at one of the biggest European Jazz Festivals, Umbria Jazz. In 2008, he set sails to spend more than 2 years in the USA to study Guitar Performance and Jazz Composition, and it was an intense, beautiful time for him - it was wonderful for Alex to be surrounded by so much talent and knowledge. While studying at Berklee, Alex was also selected to receive the Berklee Guitar Department Award, was nominated for the Harmony Department Award and also a recipient of the Berklee Achievement Scholarship, additionally to the full-time scholarship. After graduating from Berklee “summa cum laude”, he is now living in Vienna and works as studio/live musician, bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator.

My Jazz Story

I love jazz because of the freedom that comes with it. The best show I ever attended was...hmm, that's a tough one: how about the Pat Metheny Trio at Umbria Jazz, Charles Lloyd in Konzerthaus Vienna or Wayne Shorter at BPC in Boston. My advice to new listeners is to pick different styles of jazz and see what grabs you.