Matthias Anton, Hans-Günther Kölz: SONGBOOK

Matthias Anton - Saxophone, Bass clarinet; Hans-Günther Kölz - Accordion

On the album SONGBOOK, saxophonist Matthias Anton and accordionist Hans-Günther Kölz impressively navigate through various styles and genres, from classical to jazz.

The album mainly features original compositions by the two musicians, as well as works by Astor Piazzolla and Toots Thielemans. The production stands out for its harmonious interplay and boundless joy of playing. The unusual combination of saxophone and accordion, and their harmonious blend, is equally unique and further enhanced by the addition of the bass clarinet. The sound of these two instruments inspired the musicians to arrange Erik Satie's "Gnossienne No. 3" and the well-known Duke Ellington composition "Caravan."

The recording, now available, was captured live by sound engineer Robin Schmidt and interestingly marks the first-ever live jazz recording made at the Kesselhaus in Trossingen.

SONGBOOK is a captivating portrait that wonderfully reflects the years of collaboration between the two musicians and friends.

Matthias Anton and Hans-Günther Kölz met more or less by chance due to the cancellation of a project during the "Akkordeon Grenzenlos" festival in 2009. They were spontaneously brought together by Anika Neipp, which is significant in itself because exactly the same thing happened to the two musicians during the festival, seven years later. Due to a cancellation due to illness, they were asked by the organizer to step in for the canceled program slot.