On 19 March 2009 Bert Kaempfert’s long-time friend and associate passed away at the age of eighty-six.

The first time Rolf Ahrens and Bert Kaempfert’s paths met came at the end of World War II, when they played at, amongst other venues, the Tarantella Bar in Hamburg’s Hotel Esplanade. Very soon their relationship developed beyond a purely professional collaboration and the two musicians became close friends.

Rolf was present on drums not only when Bert Kaempfert made his first orchestral recordings in the fifties but also at all the recording sessions and live appearances that took place up until 1980. And it was Rolf’s very own style of drumming that contributed in no small way to the typical Kaempfert sound.

“When my father died in 1980, Rolf withdrew from active life as a musician. ‘If he’s no longer playing, then I don’t want to, either,’ he said, and put his drum set up for sale. Even so, the friendship between Rolf, his family and myself remained and, when we met, he would talk at length in his inimitably humorous way about the early days together after the war. And so it was only natural that he and his wife should play a valuable part in Marc Boettcher’s biography of Bert Kaempfert. I look back on these times with gratitude, for Rolf was always there to support me in both word and deed. I shall cherish his memory and in the coming weeks post on our website an account of Rolf Ahrens’ multifaceted life.”
Doris Kaempfert