Kevin E. Kaiser

Kevin Kaiser

March 29, 1955 – September 20, 2026

Kevin Kaiser, a gifted musician, devoted father, beloved son and brother, and a man whose life was filled with music, friendship and adventure, died September 20, 2026, in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was 71.

Kevin was born March 29, 1955, in St. Louis, Missouri, to Dorothy and Eugene Mac Kaiser. His early years were spent on the West Coast, and Seattle, Washington, remained a particularly special place to him throughout his life.

Music was part of Kevin from the beginning. He inherited his musical gift from his father, Eugene, an accomplished clarinetist, and developed that gift into a remarkable life as a professional percussionist.

Kevin attended college in Washington State before returning to the Midwest to study at the Indiana University School of Music. Indianapolis became his home for most of his adult life, although Kevin was never someone whose world was confined to one place. At one point, he spent a year in the Golan Heights in Israel, living and working on a kibbutz—one of the many experiences that reflected his adventurous and independent spirit.

As a professional percussionist, Kevin possessed an extraordinarily eclectic range. His musical life crossed genres and took him from symphonic stages to jazz ensembles, recording studios and touring productions. He performed with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra and was involved in numerous jazz projects throughout his career.

Kevin also spent countless hours in recording studios, working with accomplished musicians and artists. His career took him on the road as well, touring and performing with artists including Barry White and The Moody Blues, among many others. Music wasn’t simply Kevin’s profession. It was the language through which he experienced much of the world and connected with people throughout his life.

But Kevin’s greatest accomplishment was his son, Samuel Benjamin Kaiser.

Kevin treasured being Sam’s father, and the two shared adventures and experiences that became some of his happiest memories. At an early age, Sam loved being Kevin’s roadie at the Indy Jazz Festival and crawling into the orchestra pit to be with the band before nutcracker performances. Kevin influenced Sam’s early passion for competitive golf. He made every effort to be there to drive and/or fly him to tournaments supporting him as spectator, caddy and waterboy until Sam moved on to his studies at Denison University. Their most precious memories came from golfing together in Hawaii, Pinehurst and Kiawah Island with family as well as skiing in Park City Utah. More than the destinations themselves, Kevin cherished the time they spent together.

Kevin collected friendships wherever life and music took him. He had friends in many places and from many chapters of his life, and those relationships remained deeply important to him.

Later in life, Kevin discovered another place that captured his imagination: Maggie Valley, North Carolina. There he became enamored with the mountain music tradition and the playing of legendary banjo musician Raymond Fairchild. Kevin dreamed of moving to Maggie Valley and immersing himself in bluegrass music—a fitting dream for a musician who never stopped listening, learning or imagining the next song.

Kevin is survived by his beloved son, Samuel Benjamin Kaiser; his mother, Dorothy Kaiser; his sister Kim Kaiser; and his sister Kathleen Holmes and her husband, Doug, along with family members and the many friends and fellow musicians whose lives intersected with his own.

He was preceded in death by his father, Eugene Mac Kaiser.

Kevin’s life carried him from St. Louis to the West Coast, from Seattle to Indiana, from Israel to concert halls, recording studios and stages across the country, and eventually to the mountains of North Carolina that called to him.

Through all of it, there was music.

And above all else, there was Sam.

For those who loved Kevin, those are the things that will remain: the music he made, the adventures he embraced, the friendships he gathered along the way, and the immeasurable love he had for his son.