Big Bands

Gary Hobbs is a third generation professional drummer. His grandfather Harry led several big bands during the Great Depression era and his father, who later became a strong leader within the Vancouver, Washington Chamber of Commerce, played for swing bands during World War II. Gary has played drums...
Jim Widner was given a very special opportunity to join his grade school’s orchestra, which provided him an instrument to play. His love of music was fostered years later when he became a student of his highly influential high school band director. These early experiences set Jim on his path in...
Will Friedwald is an author and music historian who has the skills and knowledge to write about everything from the Blues to the roots of Rock and Roll. The era in between seems to be his specialty, with works on jazz singers, the big bands, radio pioneers and even Warner Brother cartoons. During...
Dennis Spragg is a music historian and author who has become an expert on the bandleader Glenn Miller. He is the senior consultant for the Glenn Miller Archives and the American Music Research Center at the University of Colorado Boulder, as well as the historian for the Glenn Miller Birthplace...
Lew Shaw grew up admiring musicians he heard on the radio or saw in concert and wanted to do all he could to promote their music and tell their stories. He was a journalist and advertising manager by day and an avid music lover by night. He has interviewed over a hundred musicians and even wrote...
John Altman, the world-renowned composer, grew up in a musically rich family and found his own passion for music at an very young age. His uncles (Woolf and Sid Phillips) were successful arrangers, bandleaders and conductors and his cousin Simon Phillips is best known as the drummer for Toto. John...
Jim Progris attended the Berklee School of Music back in 1956 and witnessed firsthand the development of the school’s courses and programs over the years. He returned to the school to teach in 1964 and became Associate Dean in charge of the entire curriculum, which he found very rewarding. Within...
Victor Quarterman began taking drum lessons as a kid at Leonard’s School of Music, which was established by the father of his longtime friend and mentor, Danny Leonard. Danny introduced Victor to music retail, which aside from gigging, has been his lifelong passion. While working for Fox Music...
Leo Adelman spent much of his life playing the jazz trumpet. In retirement, he spends a great deal of time playing and promoting jazz throughout San Diego County. When the NAMM Oral History Program was established in 2000, Leo was among the first to help arrange interviews with many of his friends...
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 several bands and with a long list of performers both in jazz and rock. While living in Los Angeles, Steve became...

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