Bobby Koelble (born September 15, 1968) is an American guitarist who performs in the

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, fe ...

, blues, funk and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

genres, and as a freelance studio musician. He is probably best known for his performances with the

band

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

. The album he played on, '' Symbolic'', was regarded by

Joel McIver Joel McIver (born 10 February 1971) is a British author. His best-known work is ''Justice for All: The Truth About Metallica'', first published in 2004 and appearing in nine languages since then. McIver's other works include biographies of Bla ...

of British music magazine ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

'' "as close to flawless as metal gets."

Early years

Born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

, Koelble’s family moved to central Florida when he was three years old. He began playing the organ when he was seven. By thirteen, Koelble transitioned to guitar, inspired by hard rock bands like

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

and AC/DC. His evolution into metal music was influenced by bands like

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a prec ...

and

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...

Education

Koelble graduated the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cou ...

with a bachelors’ degree in performance.

Career

Koelble works on original projects, as a leader, and performs for other groups as freelancer, and in studio work.

Performance

Koelble is best known for his time in the latter years of Death (1994-1996). Koelble joined Death when its founder, Chuck Schuldiner, whom he had met in high school in the Orlando area, was recommended to him through a friend working at a local music store. Koelble toured with the band in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan, before Death was disbanded. He performs with The Jazz Professors, a jazz group with two Top-20 Billboard Jazz albums.

Teaching

* Adjunct Professor, Jazz Guitar -

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

(2007–) * Adjunct Professor, Jazz Guitar -

Rollins College Rollins College is a private college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several graduate programs. It is Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institution. History Rollins Colle ...

(1998–) * Visiting professor, Seminole Community College (2003–2005)

Other

Instructor/Consultant - TalkingTabs, producing guitar instruction for the blind and learning disabled.

Performed with

* Sam Rivers *

Danny Gottlieb Daniel Richard Gottlieb (born April 18, 1953) is an American drummer. He was a founding member of the Pat Metheny Group and was co-founder of Elements with Mark Egan. Biography Gottlieb was born in New York City on April 18, 1953. He took less ...

* Chris Potter * The Jazz Professors * KOW * Junkie Rush

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koelble, Bobby 1968 births Living people American heavy metal guitarists Musicians from Newark, New Jersey Death (metal band) members