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Keith Fiala

A Forever Student of Trumpet!

About Me

I am fortunate that my love for music and playing trumpet has guided me throughout my life. At an early age I was playing and had a passion for it. As I got into my teens and my early 20's though, I still had passion but no support behind me which caused me to quit playing for 3 years... the most miserable 3 years of my life.

Once I returned to the horn, I had to learn to balance the daily life of having a “real” job and get back into the practice room. It was difficult and not without its bumps and bruises. Eventually, I quit working outside of music and started teaching private lessons and playing in cover bands to earn my money... this allowed me to make connections and helped me achieve a dream of earning a spot on Maynard Ferguson's band in 2004. I stayed for the year and learned a ton... but still had a ton to learn! While touring with Maynard, I was fortunate enough to meet Arturo Sandoval. I mustered up the courage to ask for lessons from him and through his guidance and mentorship, I improved more. In early 2017, Arturo asked me to join him as his tour manager... this gave me the opportunity to leave Austin, TX and move to California - something I had been trying to figure out for a few years. In accepting his offer, it also allowed me to become his practice partner... I stopped playing out for the most part and just stayed in the practice room and did my duties as road manager.

As I learned and grew from my experience with Arturo I was encouraged to start establishing myself as a musician and continue to perform, write and create music... there's much more on the horizon! Stay tuned...

My Jazz Story

My advice to new listeners... keep an open mind! We sometimes close ourselves off to new things because of first impressions. Jazz is many things for many people and there are many forms of jazz that are pretty deep. Start with something that is easy and not overly complex... Miles Davis, Kind of Blue is a GREAT album and digs deep into your soul if you just relax.