Arrangers
Vaughn Wiester recalls the day he played with the Woody Herman band for the first time. The famed leader called out a tune he knew and Larry was ready to jump right in. "They started playing all of these different notes, playing off each other and making such great music I was lost. I realized I...
John R. Smith and his wife, Valerie Day, formed the 1980s pop band Nu Shooz, which charted several hits and helped established the synth sound of that decade. As a kid, John played guitar and dreamed of being a rock star. He soon discovered that he had a talent as an arranger and songwriter,...
H.B. Barnum started his life off as a child actor, staring in TV shows such as the Jack Benny Show and the Amos n Andy Shows. Throughout his life, however, he had a fascination with the piano. He went on to own his own record label, Little Star Records. Since then, he has been working as an...
Chaim Rubinov played the piano in his home as a child and when school age he began playing the trumpet , thanks to the encouragement of his band director. He grew up in Montreal, where the high school he attended had a strong music program that included band exchanges and tours not only in Canada...
Jon Anderson is best known as a founding member of the band Yes. His musicianship, arranging and songwriting helped catapult the band to international fame with hit records and sold out performances around the world. The band has had a remarkable ability to re-create itself over the years for a...
Lester Abrams is the songwriter who teamed up with Michael McDonald to pen the Doobie Brothers hit "Minute by Minute." As a teenager and playing drums, Lester's first band was the El Doradoe. He later switched to keyboard and after playing with a few other bands landed in the innovative band...
Philip Leader is a freelance content programmer for electronic musical instruments, with a background in piano, organ and keyboard sales, following in the footsteps of his dad Alec Leader, who was a Concert Artist for Lowrey, Thomas, Hammond, Kimball and Roland, through the 70s and 80s. Alec had...
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. However, it was Bobby’s delivery that gained the ear of the young Mr. Watts, who later got to work with his hero...
Lalo Schifrin composed "Mission Impossible" for television and "Dirty Harry" for the movies (among others) and yet what seems to have brought him the most personal joy was his work and friendship with Dizzy Gillespie! During his childhood and music education in college, Lalo was a big jazz fan so...
Kurt Kaiser worked for Word Music beginning in 1959. Not only did he witness many of the changes to church music, many credit him for creating what is now known as contemporary Christian music. As an arranger and songwriter, Kurt worked with several leading church music artists, including Ethel...