Jack Ashford played percussion as a member of the famed Funk Brothers, the house band for Motown Records beginning in the 1960s. Jack’s unique approach to the tambourine soon resulted in...
Gary Burton, the renowned vibraphonist, provided wonderful and detailed insight into the Musser Company that he has been linked with for most of his life. He traced the company’s history ...
Val Eddy was a legendary vibraphonist and composer who played a large part in the early acceptance of the vibraphone in classical music and popular recordings. With his trusty 1922 Leedy ...
Terry Gibbs seems to live for the vibes! As a legendary jazz percussionist, Terry’s power and unique style of mallet playing has singled him out as one of the top vibraphonists in the his...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Lionel Hampton helped bring the vibraphone to jazz with a s...
Don Loeffler combined his love of music with his engineering skills to make several modifications to the percussion instruments he used throughout his career. He made his own vibraphones ...
Manny Lopez was known around the world as the King of the Cha Cha Cha for his 1950s band and hit records dedicated to the dance craze, but Manny’s musical career was far more than just th...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Red Norvo was often surprised at the influence his vibrapho...
Dave Pike made an indelible mark on jazz vibraphones! As a percussive based player, Dave wanted to play with both rhythm and pitch and to explore melodies within Bebop riffs. He played wi...
Jim Plank grew up in San Diego, California and can tell you all about the music stores in and around the area, especially since he began playing drums in the 1950s. Jim became a professio...
Dick Richardson was working with the Lyons Band Instrument Company in Chicago in the early 1960s when he was given the chance to run the Musser vibraphone division of the company. Dick b...
Del Roper performed the xylophone for several society big bands, playing on radio with Xavier Cugat in the early 1930s. Del was later a powerful force in studio orchestras and developed a...
Gilberto Serna is the keeper of the Deagan flame! The mighty vibraphone company once produced professional level instruments used by symphonic and popular musicians alike. Shortly after t...
