Impressionism means capturing the mood of a fleeting moment. The picture depicts a momentary, natural impression, trading details in favor of colors and contours. One of the most important American impressionists was T.C. Steele who studied in Germany and worked in Indiana. In 1907, he purchased over 200 acres in the wilderness of Brown County, Indiana and built a state-of-the art home. The landscaping artistry of his second wife Selma and his prominence as a painter, attracted many more artists and the House of the Singing Winds became the centerpiece of a prominent artist colony. 

With jazz as an art of the moment, there are many parallels to the process of impressionistic painting. Hence, the concept of matching paintings with musical sketches, allowing for reflective synergies as proposed by bandleader Monika Herzig became a fertile ground for creativity and musical depth during the premiere of The House of the Singing Winds in Cologne, Germany for the yearly Indiana Jazz Exchange concerts. The series is sponsored by the Cologne Sister Cities Committee and the Amerikahaus NRW. This specific group of musicians with homes in the US, Germany and Austria came together with sketches of music inspired by T.C. Steele’s art pieces, celebrating the impression of the moment and their friendship across continents and cultures through the language of jazz.