Musical Director
Nate Watts grew up in Detroit, Michigan when Motown was in full swing, and it proved to be a major inspiration for the bass legend. In 1974 Nate was summoned by Stevie Wonder to join his band and his first recording session with Stevie was on the classic album Songs In The Key of Life. Nate has...
Larry Batiste has served as the musical director for the TEC Awards for over 20 years. His love for music all started when his uncle’s piano arrived in his home while Larry was a child. He later picked up the trombone and played throughout high school and college. He fine-tuned his arranging skills...
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...
Snooky Flowers was asked to put a band together to go on the road and travel with a young blues singer named Janis Joplin. As her bandleader he helped to prepare her for road performances. As her friend, he joined her on stage to dance during her appearance at Woodstock. Snooky recorded with his...
Frank Simes was born in Tokyo, Japan and began studying guitar at the age of ten. During his fascinating career in music Frank has played guitar with the likes of Mick Jagger and Stevie Nicks; been a songwriter for Surreal McCoys, David Lee Roth and The Whizz Kidds as well as serving as musical...
Patrice Rushen has forged many in roads in the music industry. While Patrice got her start recording as an accomplished jazz pianist, she soon branched out into many other genres including pop and R&B. Along the way, Patrice took her passion for composing and arranging into the TV and Film...
Allen Toussaint represented one of the quintessential New Orleans sounds. Toussaint’s compositions and songs seamlessly blend blues, jazz, ragtime, R&B, and funk to create an amalgam that is unique and readily identifiable to New Orleans. Starting on piano in the 1940s and initially influenced...
Sheila E sat down for her NAMM Oral History interview to discuss the importance of music and music education, as well as her early musical experiences. She has always believed her earliest exposure to music, such as watching her father and his friends, proved integral in her development as an...
Larry Dunn played a key role in the success of the legendary group Earth, Wind & Fire! As the keyboardist for the group he added new sounds in the innovative era of electronic musical instruments. As Musical Director for the group he set high standards of creative and musical performances...
Tom Haggerty grew up in the Black Hills of South Dakota where he learned to play the guitar. He gigged for many years on the road, which at one point took him to Nashville where he wrote songs and performed. However, he missed home and decided to return to Rapid City where he opened a music store...