Rolf Kühn

Jazz clarinetist Rolf Kühn was born in Cologne, Germany on September 29, 1929. The older brother of pianist Joachim Kühn, he was born into a Jewish family and grew up in Leipzig, Germany. In 1937, he studied piano and composition before moving to the clarinet in 1941. Eventually, he also learned to play the saxophone and, in 1950, he joined the RIAS-Tanzorchester (RIAS Dance Orchestra). After winning competitions in Europe, he relocated to New York in 1956. He met producer John Hammond, who helped him land a deal with Vanguard Records and release his debut album, Streamline (1956), with his quartet. Rolf Kühn became a fixture in jazz clubs like Birdland and the Blue Note and replaced Buddy DeFranco in the Benny Goodman Orchestra in 1956. After returning to Germany, he became musical director of Hamburg’s NDR Symphony Orchestra (now known as the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra). He returned to his own recording career with the album Rolf Kühn and His Sound of Jazz (1960), followed two years later by the collaboration album Rolf Kühn Featuring Klaus Doldinger (1962). Rolf Kühn collaborated with many other artists including Horst Jankowski, Friedrich Gulda and the German All Stars. He recorded many albums with his brother Joachim including Re-Union in Berlin (1965), Transfiguration ( 1967), Impressions of New York (1968), Bloody Rockers (1969) and more. A musician who adapted to many jazz styles with ease, he also recorded a series of varied albums including The Day After with Phil Woods (1972), Connection '74 (1974), Total Space (1975), Symphonic Swampfire (1979), Cucu Ear (1980) and others. He dabbled in avant-garde jazz with Tri-O on Rollercoaster and Close Up (2009), before returning to exploring other styles on the albums Stop Time! (2014), Stereo (2015), Spotlights (2016) and Yellow + Blue (2018), which proved to be his final release. Rolf Kühn was honored with several awards during his career including the Echo Prize (2011) and the German Jazz Trophy (2018). On August 18, 2022, Rolf Kühn died in Berlin, Germany at the age of 92.

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