Zeke Zarchy

Rubin "Zeke" Zarchy (June 12, 1915 – April 11, 2009) was an American lead trumpet player of the big band and swing eras.

Zeke Zarchy
Zarchy (right) and Louis Armstrong in the late 1960s
Background information
Birth nameRubin Zarchy
Born(1915-06-12)June 12, 1915
New York City, New York
DiedApril 11, 2009(2009-04-11) (aged 93)
Irvine, California
Genres
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsTrumpet
Associated actsJoe Haymes, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Red Norvo, Bob Crosby, Glenn Miller, Frank Sinatra, Tommy Dorsey

Early life

Zarchy was born in New York City on June 12, 1915.[1] He first learned the violin, "but after a stint as bugler with his Boy Scout troop he switched permanently to trumpet while in his early teens."[2]

Later life and career

Zarchy was with the Joe Haymes orchestra in 1935, and the following year played with Haymes, then Benny Goodman, and then Artie Shaw.[1] He was then with Bob Crosby and Red Norvo (1937–39), Tommy Dorsey (1939–40), and Glenn Miller (1940).[1]

Between 1942 and 1945 he played in US Army bands:[1] he was part of what became Miller's Army Air Force Band (officially, the 418th Army Band), playing lead trumpet as Master (First) Sergeant.[3] Zarchy's trumpet can be heard on recordings as Benny Goodman's "Bugle Call Rag", Glenn Miller's "Moonlight Cocktail", and Bob Crosby's "South Rampart Street Parade".[4]

After the war, singer Frank Sinatra invited Zarchy to move to Los Angeles, where he became a first-call studio musician.[3] He played on numerous recordings, including those led by Boyd Raeburn, Jerry Gray, Sarah Vaughan, and Frank Capp.[1] He appeared on film in The Glenn Miller Story (1954).[1]

During the 1960s and 1970s, he played in the house bands of several CBS TV variety shows, including The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Danny Kaye Show and The Jonathan Winters Show, and was a member of the NBC Staff Orchestras in New York and Los Angeles.[3]

In his later years, Zarchy made many music tours of Europe, South America, and Australia, as well as thirty-two concert trips to Japan.[3] He tutored several young trumpet players who became successful performers and studio musicians. He died in Irvine, California, on April 11, 2009.[1]

References
  1. Kernfeld, Barry (2009), Zarchy, Zeke [Rubin], Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, retrieved March 29, 2020
  2. Ankeny, Jason. "Zeke Zarchy". AllMusic. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  3. Thurber, Jon (17 April 2009). "Rubin 'Zeke' Zarchy dies at 93; big band trumpeter". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  4. Carr, Ian; Fairweather, Digby; Priestley, Brian (1995). Jazz: The Rough Guide. The Rough Guides. pp. 716. ISBN 1-85828-137-7.
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