Al Kiger

Alan Kiger

(June 19, 1932 - July 30, 2013)

Al Kiger, internationally recognized jazz composer, arranger, and trumpet player, grew up in Muncie, Indiana and was a graduate of Muncie Burris High School.  He attended the University of Michigan from 1950 to 1952 and then transferred to Indiana University, where he completed a B.M.E. in 1956.  Al studied trumpet with E.W. Garrett, Inez Sargent, Max Woodbury, Clifford Lillya, and William Adam. Before jazz was part of the music curriculum at Indiana University, Al Kiger played trumpet in jam sessions with fellow students David Baker, Al Cobine, Jerry Coker, and others. During his years at IU, he appeared on eight recordings with groups ranging from local bands led by Al Cobine, Jerry Coker and Fred Dale to groups formed in Chicago and New York; in the latter bands, he got a chance to play with Paul Gonsalves and Clark Terry. 

Coinciding with his days at Lennox School of Jazz in Massachusetts from 1959 to 1960, he played on eight albums on major labels with George Russell (6 LPs) and John Lewis (2 LPs). For the next twenty years, he played professionally with Henry Mancini, Andy Williams, and Johnny Mathis. Starting in 1980, he played and arranged with the Cincinnati-based Blue Wisp Big Band, founded by Indy native John Von Ohlen. His recording career lasted over fifty years, and, late in life, he composed and arranged for jazz ensembles with FHJ Music.