On May 27, 2026, the AmerikaHaus NRW and the Freundeskreis Köln-Indianapolis jointly hosted the fourteenth annual Indiana Jazz Exchange concert. This year’s special guests were award-winning jazz vocalist Emma Hedrik and internationally acclaimed violinist Cathy Morris, both from the vibrant jazz scene of Indiana. In Cologne, they played alongside German-American pianist Monika Herzing and guitarist Peter Kienle, both based in Indiana, as well as Cologne-based bassist Andre Nendza and drummer Alexander Parzhuber. The mixture of musicians from Cologne and Indianapolis mirrored the enduring commitment to partnership and exchange between these two sister cities.

The theme of the night was ‘The Four Freshmen: A Centennial Celebration’, chosen to celebrate the legendary vocal group founded in 1948 at Butler University in Indianapolis. Curated by pianist Monika Herzig, this year’s program reimagined original arrangements from the group’s repertoire — whose song “Graduation Day” was famously covered by The Beach Boys — and included classic hits like “Route 66”. Throughout the night, the audience got to hear about personal connections between the musicians and certain pieces – like singer Emma Hedrik’s love of “Early Autumn” and Cathy Morris’s father’s favorite tune “This Could Be the Start of Something”. The true love of craft could be felt in the infectious atmosphere that permeated the room. The close to 200 strong audience joined in by snapping, clapping, and tapping their feet along to the beat. There was not a single still body in the crowd at Altes Pfandhaus! In its fourteenth edition, the program lived up to its tradition of fostering transatlantic exchange and connecting Germans and Americans through music.

The following morning, the American musicians gave an interactive workshop at Carl-von-Ossietzy-Gesamtschule in Cologne. They introduced students to jazz and invited them to make music together.

We would like to extend our gratitude to the musicians for their remarkable performance and willingness to join us in Cologne for this special exchange program. Many thanks also to the Freundeskreis Köln-Indianapolis for the cooperation and to the City of Cologne and the State Government of North Rhine-Westphalia for their support in making it possible. 

Photos: Gerhard Richter