Lorenz Hargassner, born on July 1, 1978, in Vienna, Austria, is a jazz saxophonist and composer. He began playing saxophone at 20 and studied at the Gustav-Mahler-Konservatorium in Vienna before earning his diploma from the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover in 2003. Hargassner continued his education with a full-tuition scholarship at The New School University in New York, studying under Seamus Blake, Miguel Zénon, and Peter Bernstein. In Berlin, he completed his Master's degree at the Jazz Institute Berlin in 2007. His debut album Diversityville was released in 2008 on Double Moon Records. Hargassner gained recognition with his formation Pure Desmond, releasing albums such as Vitality (2011) and When Lights Are Low (2012), the latter of which was included in the quarterly best list of the German Record Critics' Award in 2012. In 2008, Hargassner became a lecturer at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover.
