Let’s just do it: that was the motto when Simon Höfele and Frank Dupree decided to grab a hot potato. The two musicians, who have been making music for years, and not exclusively in the classical field they studied, love jazz as much as they love Hummel’s trumpet concerto and Beethoven’s for piano.

That said, they can seldom stray far afield in their repertoire: the gap between classical music and jazz is so great; prejudices are simply insurmountable, and musical approaches too diverse. So, they have done that anyway, and together with Frank’s colleague Obi Jenne on drums, Jakob Krupp on bass and the Goldmund Quartet they have produced an album that aims not to point out differences, not to emphasise what divides, but something that instead creates musical networks, music that aims to liberate us from conventions and put us in a good mood.

The starting point for their culinary journey is the music of George Gershwin. “It’s like the caramel that melts in your mouth,” explains Frank Dupree. Three of Gershwin’s works can be heard on “Salted Caramel”: Rhapsody in Blue, the second movement of his Piano Concerto and An American in Paris.

“The jazz pieces are the salt in the classical soup,” the two musicians explain. “Miles Davis, Chet Baker & Co. It was important to us on this album to say thank-you to a few of these jazz greats. These trumpeters influenced the world of music significantly. Without them, the trumpet would not have the status it enjoys today.”