Hearts & Minds

Hearts and Minds" is not just a random album title, because the quintet of the Cologne trumpeter and flugelhorn player Peter Protschka actually plays with heart and mind. The band's first studio album - they previously released the live album "Twilight Jamboree" - is a collection of eight compositions, half of which come from the band leader and the other half from the American tenor saxophonist Rick Margitza. Behind these sophisticated pieces, there are homages to various jazz greats. And it should be clear to everyone whom is meant with "St. Sonny" or "E Jones". But he also describes his adoptive country in "August in Paris" or the sound of the band with "Warm". "Our long-standing repertoire is huge and that's why we decided to record it on a studio album," Protschka explained his motivation. "The band was well rehearsed, because the recordings were made during our tour last September. As a result, the band was documented as it actually sounds live.