John Richardson has fond memories of walking into Don Wilson Music in Kentucky and purchasing his first tenor saxophone. Mr. Wilson sold the instrument for less than it was worth in the h...
Pat Rizzo heard Sly Stone was looking for a sax player to join the band. He went backstage at a concert with his horn and Sly told him to go into the bathroom. Sly asked if he was good a...
Marietta Robison was living next door to Sheryl and Tevis Laukat in 1996 when the couple approached her for help with their idea to start an instrument company. With a strong background i...
Tim Roethler found his calling during his service in the US Army, where he played saxophone in the army band. Recognizing the importance of instrument repair, Tim honed his skills in wood...
Phil Rovner was having some trouble with his intonation as a saxophone player, and decided to design a new approach to attaching the reed to his mouthpiece. As an engineer, he had the kno...
Andy Rowley is a member of the iconic swing band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Since its inception in 1993, the band has achieved tremendous success with hit records and memorable concert appeara...
Gary Shanholt began working on the bench at Selmer in Elkhart on Main Street back in the 1970s. He continued to work for the company after it merged with Conn, becoming Conn-Selmer. Gar...
Mike Smith, the jazz saxophonist who toured with Maynard Ferguson, Buddy Rich, and Frank Sinatra, is also closely associated with the music products industry. Mike plays an important role...
Seth Strickland had a wonderful grade school music teacher who was a great inspiration for him. Seth played saxophone throughout high school and in the jazz band. He later performed in a ...
Chuck Surack is the founder and president of Sweetwater Sound, one of the landmark companies within the music products industry. He formed the company in 1979 and worked hard to gather t...
Poul Marno Sørensen inherited Marno Sørensen Music store from his father located for many years in the heart of Copenhagen. Poul remembers how his father worked as a musician in a circus ...
Wolfe Taninbaum was a leader in the development of synthetic reeds, although he is best known for his mouthpiece designs. The Taninbaum mouthpiece company was established in 1952 to provi...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Buddy Tate was a leading saxophonist during the Big Band Er...
Elaine Taylor began working on the bench at Selmer in Elkhart in 1975, where she covered cases. Over the years she has worked in the cork and padding department for saxophones, also in t...
Ronnie Tennant first began playing cornet when he was nine years old. His father joined a brass band when he was about the same age and, in 1952, his father joined the Army Band. Ronnie w...
Orrin Tucker’s Orchestra recorded one of the greatest successes of the big band era, “Oh Johnny Oh.” This novelty number featured the shy voice of Wee Bonnie Baker and has come to symboli...
Carle Vickers’ grandmother was a noted soprano and pianist who gave him a great appreciation for classical music as well as piano lessons. He began playing trumpet and saxophone in grade ...
Harry Voshell started playing the saxophone in the fourth grade and fell in love! His interest in music grew over the years as he served in the United States Navy, where he played in sev...
Bobby Watson grew up in Lawrence, Kansas and remembers dreaming of buying a new saxophone at the local music store. An early gig with drummer Art Blakey began Bobby on his career as a no...
Ernie Watts is the answer to the question - who was playing the “mystery horn” on Frank Zappa’s The Grand Wazoo album? A veteran studio musician and bandleader, Ernie has had thousands of...
Bobby Wellins was surprised to learn that Charlie Watts, the drummer for the Rolling Stones, listed Bobby as an influence on his playing. After all, the jazzman played tenor saxophone. ...
Steve Wilkerson was just a young saxophonist when legendary bandleader, Stan Kenton, hired him to join his orchestra in 1975. It was a great experience for Steve, who went on to play in s...
Gary Winder has been active in music sales for over 30 years. Gary worked with G. Leblanc and Coda Music Technologies before he moved on in 1997 to join Yamaha, finally serving as Directo...
Edgar Winter grew up in a musical family, his older brother being the blues legend Johnny Winter. Edgar played in several of his brother’s bands before forming his own bands, always with...
Nobunari Yanagisawa is the president of the company his father established just before World War II. The company began as a repair shop, which focused on the saxophone. The factory was ...
