Klaus König / Klaus Konig

German composer Klaus König stepped into the fascinating world of music at an early age. He was born in 1959. By the age of eight, he was learning to play both the trombone and the piano. In 1975, he began to study classical trombone and composition. In 1987, König formed a group called the Pinguin Liquid. Within a couple of years he went on to create the Klaus König Orchestra. He recorded his debut album, Times of Devastation/Poco a Poco, under the ENJA Records label around 1989. It featured a 16-piece group who consisted of talented members such as sax players Frank Gratkowski, Matthias Schubert, and Marty Ehrlich; Michel Godard on tuba; Renato Cordovani, Tim Wells, and Michel Pilz on bass; drummers John Betsch and Frank Köllges; pianist Simon Nabatov; trumpeters Kenny Wheeler, Ray Anderson, Bruce Collings, Teiner Winterschladen; and Klaus König himself. Throughout the '90s, König performed at festivals and recorded a number of albums for ENJA Records. In 1990 he composed At the End of the Universe. It was released the next year. His next album, The Song of Songs, was a mixture of jazz and gospel that utilized the voices of the Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir. Time Fragments came out in 1994, followed by Reviews, which covered an even broader range than his other works. Perhaps coming almost full circle was the reason for his next album, H.E.A.R.T. Project, which turns back toward his beginning. H.E.A.R.T. is the abbreviation for high explosive, art resistant textures.