About
Heidi Bayer’s "Virtual Leak" offers the bandleader, trumpeter, and composer an ideal foundation to develop her compositional ideas over long periods and to create a space for collective invention, revision, and fusion — always in tune with the times. Founded by the Cologne-based musician in late summer 2018, the band — originally without a harmony instrument — released its debut album “Virtual Leak” (Tangible Music) in March 2020. Over the course of six years, the group has grown and evolved. Since 2024, it continues as a quintet, with Jan Alexander on Rhodes joining as the fifth member — reflecting Bayer’s expanded vision for the band’s sound.
Line-up:
Heidi Bayer – trumpet, flugelhorn, composition
Johannes Ludwig – alto saxophone
Jan Alexander – Rhodes, effects
Phil Donkin – double bass
Karl Degenhardt – drums
Heidi Bayer's VIRTUAL LEAK: "Something Different"
Heidi Bayer's VIRTUAL LEAK: "Hedwig's Flight"
Latest Release
Virtual Leak
In April 2019, Virtual Leak made their stage debut at the Domicil in Dortmund; by October, the quartet was in the studio. For the recording sessions, Heidi Bayer and her fellow musicians placed great value on playing together live in one room. Most of the tracks made it onto the album without any edits — a choice that gives the CD an intimate immediacy, with solos that feel spontaneous and leap powerfully from the speakers.
