Katja Rieckermann, Rod Stewart's long-time saxophonist, is celebrating her 59th birthday today. Born in the northern German city of Lübeck, the musician was part of the music icon's band from 2001 to 2015 and toured the world with Sir Rod.
From dishwasher to millionaire doesn't quite fit the bill for Katja Rieckermann, but if you take a look at the musician's biography, the direction is right. Grew up in Bad Schwartau. Emigrated after leaving school in the mid-80s. First to Paris to improve her language skills, then back to Germany, to Hamburg, where Katja suddenly discovered playing the saxophone at the age of 21, which is actually quite late if you want to make a career out of it.
Because until that moment, Rieckermann had nothing to do with making music. ‘I hadn't played an instrument before and even skipped music lessons at school,’ she admits. ‘But that doesn't mean I didn't listen to music. Even back then, soul and funk were my favourites, especially with horns. At school, they mostly only talked about classical music and I wasn't interested in that at all!’
The final impetus came from a friend in the USA who Rieckermann was visiting and who was a musician. She accompanied him to a concert and saw his saxophonist on stage. ‘That was exactly the moment when I decided to become a saxophonist too.’
Rieckermann flew back to Hamburg - determined to play the saxophone. That was in 1987, and the French degree she had started in Paris was a thing of the past. The actual plan to become an environmental engineer: forgotten. Rieckermann completed her training as a foreign language secretary for German, English, French and Spanish in Hamburg, but from then on, she dedicated herself mainly to playing the saxophone.
She practised and practised - and eventually played so well that she was established in the Hamburg art and music scene. To keep her head above water financially, Rieckermann worked part-time. First at a shipping company, then in Otto Waalkes‘ office (’That was a lot of fun") and later at a record company.
But that wasn't the end of the story, there was still more to come: Katja Rieckermann wanted to go even higher and moved from Hamburg to Los Angeles, where her brother Ralph was already living - at the time as bassist for the rock band Scorpions. That was in 1997. ‘The task of mastering this instrument has given me personally a purpose in life,’ says Rieckermann. ‘When I play the saxophone, I find myself in my ‘happy place’, in my personal fulfilment.’
And so Rieckermann set off again, once more with her saxophone through the clubs of the metropolis of millions, as she once did in Hamburg, to play with other musicians and make a name for herself. The fact that her brother was already very successful in the music business sometimes counted for a lot. Sometimes little. The industry has its own pace - even more so for a woman who started playing music so late.
Katja Rieckermann's breakthrough with Rod Stewart
Nevertheless, the first jobs gradually came her way, as Katja from Germany attracted attention with her soulful sound and her energetic live performances. And so it came about that Rieckermann actually auditioned for Rod Stewart at some point - and got the job as his saxophonist. She toured the world with the superstar for 14 years and later worked with the likes of Lady Gaga, Mary J. Blige and Jeff Goldblum.
Rieckermann knows how to ‘captivate and mesmerise the audience’, according to her website. Rod Stewart must have felt the same way. Rieckermann is still in contact with him today, she says: ‘We email and text regularly. Sometimes he even invites me to his house for dinner.’
After so many years on stage as a ‘sideman’, as she says, she is now performing on stage as a solo artist for the first time. She is currently planning several performances in Germany for 2025. A performance is planned for 12 September at Rider's Cafe in her hometown of Lübeck, where she already appeared on stage in 2023. And more dates are to follow.
The ‘home game’ in Lübeck is very important to her, she says. On the one hand, it's a chance to recapture a little bit of home for her heart - and on the other, to see friends, family and old companions again. ‘I love performing my own compositions with a small line-up and in a personal atmosphere.’
Text: Lübecker Nachrichten & Storyteller
Photos: Katja Rieckermann, Storyteller
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