Neal Hefti (born October 29, 1922 in Hastings, Nebraska - died October 11, 2008 in Toluca Lake, California) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger. He began arranging professionally in his teens, when he wrote charts for Nat Towles. He became a prominent composer and arranger while playing trumpet for Woody Herman; while working for Herman he provided new arrangements for "Woodchopper's Ball" and "Blowin' Up a Storm," and composed "The Good Earth" and "Wild Root.