Cologne Jazzweek: SCHMID’s HUHN – the cologne songbook

The quartet Schmid’s Huhn has been around for more than 13 years, featuring the namesake Stefan Karl Schmid and Leonhard Huhn on tenor and alto saxophone, plus clarinets, and a rhythm section featuring Stefan Schönegg (bass) and Fabian Arends (drums). Stylistically, the music can be situated at the intersection of post-bop and neo-cool, a space that also incorporates jazz avant-garde and contemporary improvisational music. In their playing, the musicians focus on structural processes and the improvisational transformation of prepared material, which is treated with energy and emotion.
Together with the Cologne Jazz Conference, Schmid’s Huhn has launched an unusual project: a “Cologne Songbook”, which brings together 111 pieces by Cologne-based composers. From this collection, the quartet has selected several pieces to reinterpret and reshape as improvisational artists—with the aim of placing these titles in ever-changing musical contexts and revealing both the vitality of the Cologne scene and its international appeal.