Gez Kahan

Gez Kahan, on a whim, offered to be the musical director for his college’s production of Tommy. The experience lit a fire under him and soon he was exploring all of the latest gear, especially electronic keyboards and synthesizers. In 1983 he was hired as a freelancer to demonstrate the first Roland MIDI instrument, the JX3P, at the British Music Fair. Once again the experience was exciting and rewarding and led to Roland hiring Gez for demos for four more years before finally asking him to come on board full-time. He wrote the advertising, the company’s newsletter and articles about the products, before going freelance as an advertising and PR agent. This was perfect training for the role of magazine editor, first with Music Business. In 1999, with the support of his wife, Gez launched his own trade magazine, MI Pro. The award-winning magazine was a turning point in the way the British trades addressed retailers as readers, which was a focus for Gez. He stayed with the magazine until 2005, turning to freelance work once again (MI Pro was published for another 6 years before ceasing operations). In 2010 Gez decided to get back to the roots of his passion, which was playing. He was in a Santana tribute band for years and loves every minute of it. Gez passed away in late 2022 just shy of his 70th birthday.