Schumann meets Jazz: Kinderszenen

In the organizer's words:

INSEL
Schumann meets jazz: children's scenes
INSEL Musiksalon / Music and more
Sunday / September 20, 2026 / 6 pm (admission: 5:30 pm)
Admission: 12/6 (advance booking) and 14/8 (B.O.)

Free admission for visitors under the age of 21. Please send us a short message to post@insel.news if you are interested.

Joerg Kaufmann // saxophone / flute
Mathias Haus // vibraphone
Conrad Noll // double bass / cello

An extraordinary jazz trio approaches Robert Schumann's romantic sound world in a very unique way: Schumann's "Kinderszenen" op. 15 are reinterpreted in a chamber music setting - inspired by contemporary jazz, yet deeply rooted in Schumann's original language. The musical approach is not a crossover in the usual sense; an independent sound world is created in which the poetry of the romantic character pieces for piano meets elements from jazz. The lyrical essence of the "Kinderszenen" is preserved, but is cast in a new light through altered harmonic colors, new rhythmic perspectives or free formal design.
The trio unites three musicians with many years of experience at the interface of classical music, free improvisation and modern jazz. The instrumentation creates a transparent, chamber music aesthetic that respectfully reflects the depth of the original - and at the same time is open to new sonic discoveries.

Joerg Kaufmann studied school music and German language and literature in Saarbrücken and jazz saxophone and flute at the Cologne University of Music with Wolfgang Engstfeld, Jiggs Whigham, Axel Jungbluth, Manfred Schoof and Rainer Brüninghaus, among others.
This was followed by numerous tours and productions, e.g. with Supersession, Alphonse Mouzon, Slide Hampton, Pete York, Bobby Shew, Peter Herbolzheimer, Billy Cobham, Bob Mintzer, Danny Gottlieb, Axel Fischbacher and many others.
The saxophonist was a permanent member of the SWR Bigband from 2000 to 2008, where he had the opportunity to work with numerous international stars of the big band scene such as Sammy Nestico, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Bob Florence, Don Menza and Rob Mc Connell. Since 2003, Jörg Kaufmann has played regularly with the internationally renowned organist Barbara Dennerlein.
In addition to numerous productions as a sideman, four CDs have been released under his own name.
Kaufmann worked for over twenty years as a lecturer at colleges and universities in Arnhem (Netherlands), Cologne and Mainz, and for thirteen years as a music teacher at a comprehensive school in Langenfeld.
Jörg Kaufmann is currently back on the road as a freelance musician for various bands. In 2023, he performed with the SWR Big Band, John Beasley, Magnus Lindgren, Chris Potter and Melissa Aldana, among others, for several concerts at Dizzy's Club in New York.

Mathias Haus is one of the most versatile jazz vibraphonists of our time. Born in 1963, he first learned piano and drums as a child. His affinity for the vibraphone grew out of the logical combination of piano and percussion. He began studying classical percussion in Düsseldorf at the age of 16.
After producing a vibraphone/piano duo CD at the age of 17 (with Oliver Kels), Gary Burton invited him to Boston at the age of 20 to study jazz vibraphone with him. He also studied composition there with Hal Crook, John LaPorta and Herb Pomeroy.
The multiple award-winning musician can be heard on more than 30 CDs as a leader or guest musician. In his own bands and projects, he has played with the Atom String Quartet, Jim Black, Pablo Held, Donny Mc Caslin, Christian Jacob, Vadislav Sendecki, Hugo Read, Andre Nendza and Philipp van Endert, among others.
Concerts and productions have taken him to the side of artists such as Steve Swallow, Rainer Brüninghaus, Carla Bley, Wolfgang Engstfeld, Martial Solal and Rachel Z. as well as multiple productions with the radio big bands of the HR, NDR, SWR and WDR.
Mathias Haus' composition "all my Life" was recently performed by the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra in November 2023 in front of 1700 listeners in the sold-out Tonhalle.

Conrad Noll is a double bassist and cellist living in Cologne. He began his musical education at the age of eight with classical cello lessons. However, his love of the lower notes and his interest in jazz led him to learn the double bass at the age of 16. Starting out as a hobby, the bass replaced the cello as his ambitions grew. In 2011, Conrad began his studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne. There he had lessons with Sebastian Gramss, Dietmar Fuhr and Dieter Manderscheid, among others. Curiosity and a desire to experiment eventually led him to continue playing the cello, but this time in a jazz context. After completing his double bass studies, he went on to complete a bachelor's degree in jazz cello, also at the HfMT Cologne.
As a bandleader, Conrad Noll can be heard with his formation "My Little Cello", among others, with which he realizes his sound ideas of the cello as a melody instrument in jazz.
He is a sideman with both instruments in numerous formations and particularly enjoys a wide stylistic spectrum: from traditional jazz to freely improvised music.

The INSEL Musiksalon, curated by pianist Mark Kantorovic, revives an old idea. Musicians from classical to new music play and sing on the INSEL and talk about their music. Always on Sundays. The bar is open. We listen.

An INSEL event.

Price information:

Admission: 12/6 (VVK) and 14/8 (B.O.) Free admission for visitors under the age of 21. If you are interested, please send us a short message to post@insel.news.