SCHMID’s HUHN – the cologne songbook

The Schmid’s Huhn quartet has been around for more than 13 years, featuring the group’s namesakes Stefan Karl Schmid and Leonhard Huhn on tenor and alto saxophone, respectively, along with clarinets, and a rhythm section comprising 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 music, the musicians focus on structural processes and the improvisational transformation of existing material, which is reworked to evoke energy and emotion. In collaboration with the Cologne Jazz Conference, Schmid’s Huhn have launched an unusual project: a “Cologne Songbook” that brings together 111 pieces by Cologne-based composers. From this, the quartet has selected a few pieces to reinterpret and reshape them as improvisational artists – with the aim of placing these tracks in ever-changing musical contexts and revealing both the vitality of the Cologne scene and its international appeal.