Schmid’s Huhn - Hindemith Abstractions

​Schmid’s Huhn

Hindemith Abstractions
self-released; 2026

By Jamie Funk

A jazz record that takes Paul Hindemith’s music for three Trautoniums as its point of departure is not chasing easy entry. That is part of what gives Hindemith Abstractions its character. Schmid’s Huhn are working with material tied to early electronic experimentation, modernist rigor, and a composer whose music can be thorny without losing shape. The quartet does not flatten any of that into polite tribute. Instead, they pull Hindemith’s angular melodic logic, harmonic density, and formal precision into a band language shaped by more than 13 years of playing together.

Schmid’s Huhn move through post-bop, cool jazz, avant-garde writing, and free improvisation with a rare sense of internal logic. The record is split between the four-part suite “The Little Jazz Musicians’ Favorites” and the freer “Reflections on Hindemith,” but the two halves speak to each other. One side gives the album its compositional spine, while the other lets the band push further into abstraction. Even at its most open, the music never loses its center. The structure comes from notation, but also from trust, listening, and the kind of ensemble awareness that only develops over time.

“The Little Jazz Musician's Favorites - Part 1: Form” opens the album with a smooth, controlled sound that still has plenty of motion under the surface. I really enjoyed the horns and drums here, though the whole band sounds locked in. The piece has an elegant glide to it, but it never turns passive. “The Little Jazz Musician's Favorites - Part 2: Free” moves into improvised free jazz territory, loosening the frame while keeping the group interaction sharp. “The Little Jazz Musician's Favorites - Part 3: Vamp” brings more forward motion, with rhythmic ideas that give the piece a stronger pulse. “The Little Jazz Musician's Favorites - Part 4: Pedal” takes a stranger route, using unconventional transitions and shifting textures to keep the suite from settling into routine.

“Intermission” works as a reset. It is minimal, patient, and built as a very slow burn, giving the album a needed pocket of space before the second major section begins. “Reflections on Hindemith - Abstract 1: Thirds” carries a Los Angeles noir quality, with a shadowy mood and a sense of late-night tension. “Reflections on Hindemith - Abstract 2: Affinity” stays in related territory, though the atmosphere grows darker and slightly more haunted. The kinetic “Reflections on Hindemith - Abstract 3: Spinning” is one of the album’s most technically impressive pieces, with the players pushing quick ideas through tight turns without sounding rigid.

​“Reflections on Hindemith - Abstract 4: Chase” gives the drums and bass some of their best moments, creating a sense of pressure without crowding the arrangement. “Reflections on Hindemith - Abstract 5: Syntony” closes in a more cinematic and ambient register, widening the record’s scope while keeping its restraint intact.

Hindemith Abstractions is clearly made for serious jazz listeners, but it is not dry academic music. The performances are strong, the recording has clarity, and the album moves through different styles and subgenres without losing its identity. I found it enjoyable from beginning to end, especially in the way Schmid’s Huhn balance discipline with risk. Take a listen.

​I kept the praise controlled and made the Hindemith concept feel central without turning it into program notes.

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