Library - In Memoriam
Remembering oral history interviewees who have passed away.
Larry Moody began his career in the music industry as a retailer working for Ziggy Coyle in Ohio. The store was owned by Ziggy, a past president of the NAMM Board of Directors, and Russell Hill.
Vernon Drane played several musical instruments growing up in Tennessee including the trumpet and saxophone. He later studied instrument repair and spent 68 years (!) working with the Amro Music Company in Memphis.
George Roberts is known in the jazz world for his recording of “Stella By Starlight” with the Stan Kenton Orchestra, which featured George on bass trombone. He is known among music instrument makers as Mr.
Yoshi Kobayashi began working for Yamaha Corporation of America in 1958. In the early days of his career he was tasked with supervising the import and export of the motorcycle division. As the musical instrument side of the company grew and expanded into the United States, Yosh
Gerald Wilson was among the great arrangers of jazz, beginning back in the swing era when he worked for the famed Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra. He established a distinctive style rich in melodic phrases and tasty rhythms, which stood out among the most stylish jazz arrangements. The impressive list of those artists he worked with is equaled only to that of the list of those who loved and respected him as a gentleman and as a musician.
Ruth Charles and her husband Dick opened a music store in Glendale, California, called Charles Music. They enjoyed a long life together as music makers and teachers and retailers of musical products.
Frantisek Nemecek was born and raised in Czechoslovakia where he studied advertising and helped the more than 70 instrument makers in the area to sell their products.
Bruno Pedrini and his brother Tom both started music stores in Southern California after World War II –yet the stores remained separate although they were both called Pedrini Music. Bruno’s store was established in 1946 in Glendale and was later moved to its current location in La Crescenta. His daughter and her husband now operate the store and Bruno visited occasionally; such as the day NAMM honored him for 60 years in business.
Steno Giulini served as the editor of the International Association magazine "Euro Piano" for well over 60 years. He was by far the oldest employee of the specialist publishing PPV Medien and became a historian as he said, by simply writing and living. At the time of his NAMM O
Patrick Hiatt was among the leaders of band instrument repairmen in the industry. His work spanned several decades and was vital in the formation of NAPBIRT, the National Association of Professional Band Instrument Repair Technicians.