Rubin "Zeke" Zarchy (June 12, 1915 – April 12,
2009) was an American lead trumpet player of the big band and swing eras.
Trumpeters Zeke Zarchy (right) and Louis Armstrong visit
during a rehearsal for a Los Angeles TV show in the late 1960s.
He joined the Joe Haymes orchestra in 1934, then played with
Benny Goodman in 1936 and Artie Shaw in 1937. From 1937 to 1942, he worked and
recorded with the bands of Red Norvo, Bob Crosby, Glenn Miller, Mildred Bailey,
Frank Sinatra, Helen Ward, Judy Garland, Tommy Dorsey, and Ella Fitzgerald.
Zeke'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.
When World War II broke out, Zarchy was the first musician
chosen by Glenn Miller for what became Miller's Army Air Force Band
(officially, the 418th Army Band) where Zarchy played lead trumpet and was
Master (First) Sergeant from 1942 to 1945.
After the war, singer Frank Sinatra invited Zarchy to move
to Los Angeles , where he became a
first-call studio musician. He played on the recordings of hundreds of
vocalists, including Louis Armstrong, Tony Bennett, Dinah
Shore , and The Mills Brothers. His
trumpet is heard in the soundtracks of many classic Hollywood
movies, including West Side Story (1961), Dr. Zhivago (1965) and the The Glenn
Miller Story (1954).
During the 1960s and '70s, 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 .
In his later years, Zarchy made many music tours of Europe ,
South America , and Australia ,
as well as 32 concert trips to Japan .
He tutored several young trumpet players who became successful performers and
studio musicians. He died on April 12,
2009 at the age of 93.
Cliff Weston t, v / Zeke Zarchy, Gordon Griffin t / Mike Michaels, Frank Llewellyn tb / Leo White cl / Edgar Sarason as / Freddy Fallensby ts / Ben Herrod bar / Bill Miller p / Brick Fleagle g / Jack Fay sb / Charlie Bush d / Joe Haymes ldr / The Headliners v.
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