After many years of conjoint work based saxophonists Stefan Karl Schmid and Leonhard Huhn created a new Quartet named “Schmid’s Huhn” as their means of expression. With bassist Stefan Schönegg and drummer Fabian Arends they will release their next album in the fall of 2014.

Schmid and Huhn understand each other instinctively. Their ‘slight and powerful tone’ (Jazzthing) merges into one sound at which it folds contrapuntally in the very next moment opening up new sound scopes. This phenomenon is used in their compositions to reveal tonal details, attrition and different colors. They improvise, communicate and interact with each other whereat the treatment of the individually composed material is conducted by the particular moment. With bass and drums an earthy and lyrical sound arises which ‘sovereignly fills the space between tradition and avant-garde’ (Jazzpodium).

Together Schmid and Huhn have been very successful over the last couple of years. In 2011 they won the composition award at the ‘Tremplin Jazz D’Avignon Festival in France, the ‘Sparda-Jazz-Award’ 2012 and in 2013 they have been nominated for the ‘New German Jazztrophy’.

Leonhard Huhn alto saxophone und clarinet Stefan Karl Schmid tenor saxophone und clarinet Stefan Schönegg bass Fabian Arends drums www.schmidshuhn.de Leonhard Huhn (*1986)

Born in Berlin 1986 Leonhard Huhn began playing the saxophone at the age of thirteen. In 2006 he moved to Cologne to study jazz-saxophone with Frank Gratkowski and attended several workshops and masterclasses with Paulo Alvares, Sidsel Endresen, Roman Filiu, Achim Kaufmann, David Liebman, Stefano Scodanibbio, Peter Weniger a.o. He plays and composes in the fields of jazz, improvised and contemporary music, new music, electronic music and dance improvisation.

Leonhard was a member of the Youth-Jazzorchestra Berlin under the conduction of Dieter Glawischnig, Joe Gallardo and Jonas Schön. He performs in various ensembles e.g. the duo 'Far East Suite' with bassist Sebastian Gramss, the improvising 'Trio Cel' with violoncello and doublebass or 'Das Klangregime'. He is a member of Hayden Chisholms microtonal Altosaxophoneoctet 'Fo[u]r + 4 Alto', Colognes 'Multiple Joy[ce] Orchestra' and of the Würzburger 'Polychrome Orchestra'. Leonhard played during the Langnau-Jazz-Nights (Schwitzerland), Cologne-Jazz-Nights, Saarbrücker- Sommermusik, Cologne-Music-Week, Kölner Musiknacht and played along with musicians like Markus Eichenberger, Sidsel Endresen, David Friedman, Joe Gallardo, Frank Gratkowski, Carl-Ludwig Hübsch, Etienne Nillesen, John Taylor, Underkarl, Kenny Wheeler a.o. He is a scholar of the 'Yehudi Menuhin Foundation' Germany.

Stefan Karl Schmid (*1984)

Born in 1984 half Icelandic half German Stefan Karl Schmid attended as a Fulbright scholar the master-performance-program at the Manhattan School of Music in New York and studied with David Liebman, Phil Markowitz, Donny McCaslin, John Riley and Steve Wilson. Besides many recordings as a sideman Stefan released his debut as a leader with his band exTENded on the renowned label Double Moon in 2012.

He received a Master of Music degree in Jazz-composition at the university of Cologne in 2010. Prior to this he graduated with distinction from Jazz-saxophone performance and music-pedagogy studies at the University of Nuernberg and was awarded a special prize for the best diploma. His mentors here were Klaus Graf, Frank Reinshagen, Steffen Schorn, Joachim Ullrich and Hubert Winter.

Stefan was a member of different Youth-Jazz-Orchestras, entered the Federal Jazz-Orchestra of Germany (BuJazzO) under the conduction of Peter Herbolzheimer, Bill Dobbins and Ed Partyka in 2006 and travelled to Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, France, Korea, Rumania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, the Ukraine and the USA. Among others he has worked with Michael Abene, Theo Bleckmann, Till Brönner, John Hollenbeck, Joe Lovano, Maceo Parker, , the HR and WDR Big Band.

Stefan received the 1st prize at the 'Jugend Jazzt' solo-competition in 2003. Furthermore he won the 1st prize at the 'Bruno-Rother-Gedaechtnisstipendium 2008' with the 'Stefan Schmid 4tet'. With the 'Orka Quartet' he is winner of the 'International Competition for Soloists and Ensembles' in Kerkrade (NL). In 2011 he was awarded for the best composition at the 'Européen Tremplin Jazz DAvignon Contest' in France. In 2013 Stefan received the jazzprize of the city of Cologne and the city of Worms and is the winner of the ‚BuJazzO composition contest’. Stefam Schönegg (*1986)

Born in Heppenheim, Germany in 1986 Stefan Schönegg studied classical double bass at the university ‘Hans Eisler’ in Berlin. Since 2010 he is studying Jazz bass at the university of Cologne. His mentors were Dientmar Fuhr, Sebastian Gramss, Esko Laine, Dieter Manderscheid and Stephan Petzold. In addition Stefan did masterclasses with Mark Dresser, Barre Philips, John Taylor, Marilyn Crispell, Duncan McTier a.o.

Stefan works in the field of jazz, free improvisation and new music. He travelled with different ensembles to Spain, France, England, Italy, Belgium, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland. E.g. in 2012 he was invited as a scholar to the ‘Palazzo Ricci’ in Motepulciano. With the EWCM-ensemble he played at the ‘Warschauer Herbst’ in 2013. Furthermore he has been realizing interdisciplinary theater productions over the last couple of years and worked with Arto Lindsay, Roman Signer a.o. More information on: stefanschoenegg.de

Fabian Arends (*1990)

Fabian Arends is a jazzdrummer living in Cologne, Germany. He is an active part of the jazz- and improvised music scene. He has worked with musicians such as Hubert Nuss, John Goldsby, Florian Ross, Uli Beckerhoff, Ingmar Heller, Niels Klein, Nicolas Thys, Jason Seizer, Thomas Rückert, Robert Landfermann, Pablo Held, Jürgen Friedrich, Gerd Dudek, Dieter Manderscheid, Sebastian Sternal, Henning Berg and the NDR Radiophilharmonie, EOS Kammerorchester Cologne, Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, WDR Rundfunkchor a.o.

In the past he has played on national and international festivals as the Audi Jazz Festival Cologne, Jazzfest Bonn, JazzBaltica, ElbJazz , Moers Festival, Leverkusener Jazztage, Jazzrally Düsseldorf, Intern. Literatur – und Poesiefest Bad Homburg, BR Radio Jazzfestival, 8Brücken Cologne, Transeuropéennes Rouen Saint Louis Jazzfestival a.o.

Over the last years he played concerts in Russia, Poland, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Italy and France. Since 2012 Fabian is a member of the German Youth Jazz Orchestra, Bujazzo. In 2010 Fabian was awarded the Praetorius Music Price of Lower Saxony. In 2013 he won the Sparda-Jazz-Award in Düsseldorf with the Louis Stapleton Trio. In November 2013 the Louis Stapleton Trio won the 1. Young Jazzprize .

www.schmidshuh.de Stefan Karl Schmid // Gilbachstr. 30 // D-50672 Cologne // [email protected]