Rick Kiefer (born 1939) is an American trumpet player who has spent most of his career as a professional musician in Germany. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, he first attracted notice in the early 1960s as a member of the

Maynard Ferguson Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often serv ...

big band. In the mid-60s, he moved to Germany and became a member of the

Max Greger Max Greger (April 2, 1926, Munich – August 15, 2015, Munich) was a German jazz musician, saxophonist, big band bandleader and conductor. He recorded over 150 records in jazz and pop music. In 1948 he founded his first sextet with acclaimed mu ...

band, and by the end of the decade, he had joined the

Kurt Edelhagen Kurt Edelhagen (born 5 June 1920 – 8 February 1982) was a German big band leader. He was born in Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Edelhagen studied conducting and piano in Essen. In 1945, he started a trio, then a big band a year late ...

orchestra in Cologne. He spent the first half of the 1970s as a member of the

James Last Orchestra The James Last Orchestra was a German/multinational big-band orchestra. The orchestra was established in 1964 as a studio orchestra, led by jazz musician Hans Last. The orchestra started touring in 1968 and has been very popular worldwide. From 1 ...

, as well as with the

Peter Herbolzheimer Peter Alexandru Herbolzheimer (31 December 1935 – 27 March 2010) was a Romanian-German jazz trombonist and bandleader. Biography Herbolzheimer was born to a Romanian mother and a German father in Bucharest, Romania. His family emigrated in 1 ...

band, and from the late 70s onwards became a permanent member of the

WDR WDR may refer to: * Waddell & Reed (stock ticker: WDR), an American asset management and financial planning company * Walt Disney Records, an American record label of the Disney Music Group * WDR neuron, a type of neuron involved in pain signall ...

(Westdeutscher Rundfunk, or West German Radio) big band. Kiefer is notable for being part of a group of Cleveland natives who played trumpet for

James Last James Last (, ; born Hans Last; 17 April 1929 – 9 June 2015), also known as Hansi, was a German composer and big band leader of the James Last Orchestra. Initially a jazz bassist (Last won the award for "best bassist" in Germany in each of ...

, the others being

Bob Lanese Bob Lanese (born August 2, 1941) is an American trumpet player who has spent most of his career as a professional musician in Germany. Life and career Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Lanese was one of a group of local trumpet players who would ...

Chuck Findley Charles B. Findley (born December 13, 1947 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania) is an American trumpet player known for his diverse work as a session musician. He also plays other brass instruments such as flugelhorn and trombone. His technical abilities ...

and

Bob Findley Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places * Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname ...

.Bob Willox, "James Last", 1975

Discography

With

*''

Newport Suite ''Newport Suite'' is an album recorded by Canadian jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson featuring tracks recorded in 1960 and originally released on the Roulette label.Minn, M. ichaelminn.net/discographies/maynard/?releases#Roulette-52047 Maynard Ferg ...

'' (Roulette, 1960) *''

Let's Face the Music and Dance "Let's Face the Music and Dance" is a song written in 1936 by Irving Berlin for the film '' Follow the Fleet'', where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and featured in a celebrated dance duet with Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The jazz song has al ...

'' (Roulette, 1960) *''

Maynard '61 ''Maynard '61'' is an album by jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson featuring tracks recorded in late 1960 and early 1961 and originally released on the Roulette Records, Roulette label.Minn, MMaynard Ferguson discography accessed May 11, 2016 Recepti ...

'' (Roulette, 1961) With the

Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band The Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band was a jazz big band co-led by American drummer Kenny Clarke and Belgian pianist François "Francy" Boland. They were one of the most noteworthy jazz big bands formed outside the United States, featuring top ...

*'' Off Limits'' (Polydor, 1970) *''

Change of Scenes ''Change of Scenes'' is an album by saxophonist Stan Getz, Francy Boland and the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band which was released on the Verve label in 1971.

'' (Verve, 1971) with

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre o ...

As a soloist Rick Kiefer *'' Lush Life'' (Omega, 1975) with

Rob Pronk Rob or ROB may refer to: Places * Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia * Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia People * Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn * Rob ( ...

and

Jerry van Rooyen Jerry van Rooyen (31 December 1928 in The Hague – 14 September 2009 in Goor) was a Dutch trumpeter, conductor, and composer. His works have appeared in films such as Free Enterprise and the British television series Spaced. Biography ...

References

Living people American trumpeters American male trumpeters 1939 births Musicians from Cleveland 21st-century trumpeters 21st-century American male musicians James Last Orchestra members {{US-trumpeter-stub