Music journalist, author and sound artist Michael Rüsenberg invites jazz greats to an interesting exchange at "Speak Like A Child." The title of the series goes back to the title track of the legendary Herbie Hancock album from 1968 and is a reference to the musical primary color of the Stadtgarten. Now the popular interview series is also available as a podcast, to be heard here on this website, Spotify and iTunes.

Achim Fink, born in 1954 in Engers near Neuwied, comes not only from the same town, but from the same street as Norbert Stein. Like him, he studied at the Musikhochschule Köln (1973-1979), but classical trombone, and this more in the spirit of New Music with Vinko Globokar.

In Cologne, both also play in the same bands, NoNett (1979-1984) and the Pata Horns. In 1994, Fink continues the woodwind and brass quartet as Talking Horns; it exists to this day and has toured half the world. Another long-term partnership he has maintained since 1991 to this day is with pianist Martin Kübert.
Achim Fink describes himself as "not so jazzy"; perhaps that's why he might be the only jazz musician in Cologne who crosses the big divide: he also plays Dixieland. Yes, he even speaks of the "great freedom under the straw hat".

On the other hand, he has been part of the ensemble of the renowned theater director Robert Wilson for years. As a founding member of the Initiative Kölner Jazzhaus e.V., Achim Fink is part of the concert series "Past & Present". In the concert on April 2, 2022, he first played in a duo with Martin Kübert, then with the Talking Horns (Andreas Gilgenberg, as, bcl, Bernd Winterschladen, ts, bars, Stephan Jochen Schulze, tb, btb, tuba), himself on trombone, tenor trumpet and tuba. During the break: his music, electronically transformed, to videos from the deep sea - another of his many construction sites.

The conversation with Achim Fink took place on August 9, 2022 in the club "Jaki", in the basement of the Stadtgarten.