Peter Herbolzheimer (* 31.12.1935 in București (Bucharest); † 27.03.2010 in… Read Full Bio ↴Peter Herbolzheimer (* 31.12.1935 in București (Bucharest); † 27.03.2010 in Köln (Cologne)) was a German bandleader and jazz trombonist.

Herbolzheimer's arrangements are a distinctive blend of swing, latin and rhythmic rock music.

Herbolzheimer migrated from comunist Romania to West Germany in 1951. In 1953 he moved to the United States of America, where he worked as a guitar player. He returned to Germany in 1957, took up the trombone and studied at Nuremberg Conservatory for one year. In the 1960s he played with Nuremberg radio dance orchestra and Bert Kämpfert's orchestra. In 1968 he played in the pit of "Deutsches Schauspielhaus" - a Hamburg theater orchestra directed by Hans Koller.
In 1969 he formed the "Peter Herbolzheimer Rhythm Combination & Brass" (RC&B) for which he wrote most of the arrangements. This big band was rather unique for having an international lineup of eight brass players, but originally only one saxophone with Herb Geller in that chair. Brass players were (amongst others) Allan Botschinsky (Denmark), Art Farmer (USA), Dusko Goykovich (Bosnia), Palle Mikkelborg (Denmark), Ack van Rooyen (Netherlands) or Jiggs Whigham (USA). The rhythm section consisted of two keyboards, guitar, bass, drums and percussion and included renowned musicians such as Dieter Reith (Germany), Philip Catherine (Belgium), Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (Denmark), Bo Stief (Denmark), Alex Riel (Denmark), Grady Tate (USA) and Nippy Noya (Indonesia). The basic members remained for several years; as necessary, the Rhythm Combination & Brass was augmented for special events. In the late 1970s the band toured successfully with a "jazz gala" program featuring guest stars like Esther Phillips, Stan Getz, Nat Adderley, Gerry Mulligan, Toots Thielemans, Clark Terry or Albert Mangelsdorff. In later years the RC&B played many concert tours, television shows and jazz festivals. Later it had been replaced by a regular sized big band.

In 1972 Herbolzheimer wrote music for the Kurt Edelhagen's opening of the Olympic Games in Munich (see youtube). Later he worked for German television as leader and arranger, and accompanied visiting American musicians such as Al Jarreau and Dizzy Gillespie. Between 1987 and 2006 Herbolzheimer was the musical director of Germany's national youth jazz orchestra, the BundesJazzOrchester (BuJazzo) and conducted regular workshops for big band jazz.

In 1974 Herbolzheimer's Rhythm Combination & Brass entered an annual television competition held in the Belgian seaside resort Knokke, winning the coveted Golden Swan Award. He also won the International Jazz Composers Competition 1974 in Monaco.

Herbolzheimer died in Cologne, Germany, on March 27, 2010.

Peter Herbolzheimer Lyrics