Oral History - all
Arturo Sandoval is the Cuba born jazz trumpeter best known for the 2000 film “For Love of Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story” in which Andy Garcia portrayed Arturo. Over the years he has performed with most of the top names in jazz and began composing music as well as playing the piano. In 2007 he... more
Joyce Pinnell-Martin served as president of the famed print dealer Wingert-Jones Music in Kansas City. The store opened in 1960 and just two years later Joyce was hired as the book keeper. Over the years she helped grow the company and developed her own strong career. While serving as president of... more
Birth Date: May 10, 1936
Deceased Date: February 27, 2022
Jacquelyn Dillon-Krass was a pioneering woman in the music products industry. As a music educator she first connected with the industry when hired by Scherl & Roth in 1970 to head up their efforts to promote their string products by creating string orchestras in the public school system. She... more
Greg Billings is the retired president of the Steinway Piano Gallery of Naples in Florida. Greg is also a very active member of the music products industry, appearing on panel discussions at NAMM Shows, serving on boards and writing a regular article for Music Inc. magazine. His deep passion for... more
Kurt Listug and his friend Bob Taylor bought the small guitar shop they were working in and renamed it Taylor Guitars. Together they built one of the fastest growing companies in the music industry in the latter part of the 20th Century and worked to create innovative products that would bring... more
Birth Date: August 16, 1951
Deceased Date: October 3, 2021
Dex Johnson grew up in the music retail business. His mother and father formed their store, Mississippi Music, after World War II and his father became an industry leader, even serving as President of NAMM in the 1970s. Dex worked in every department of the company and managed several of the... more
Rosi Johnson was hired by the founder of Mississippi Music and her future father in law, Jimmy Johnson, as the in-house accountant. She took over the financial end of the entire business from the secretary/treasurer/office manger who was retiring. At the time the company had seven store locations... more
Birth Date: December 29, 1925
Deceased Date: January 16, 2023
JW Jenkins was president of the large music store chain in and around Kansas City that his great grand father first opened in 1878. His father, Paul W. Jenkins, kept the company running during the Great Depression and provided a great example to JW who expanded the store locations after World War... more
Johnny Clark was a sales rep for the Slingerland Drum Company his entire career. He began working for the company when the founder’s son, Bud, was president and served under every president of the company until Slingerland was sold to Gretsch in 1994. Johnny played a vital role in expanding the new... more
Larry Biernacki opened the first of three music stores in Deerfield, Illinois. Like with all three locations, he named it after the local community to provide a neighborhood feel to each store. Along with a strong focus on customer service, the stores have become the place to be for musicians and... more
Thomas Dotzauer is a master mandolin builder from the region of famed music instrument production center Bubenreuth in Germany. He did his apprenticeship in guitar production of Walter Hoyer for the Hoyer Guitar Company. Over the years Thomas Dotzauer has focused on producing custom-made mandolins... more
Birth Date: July 31, 1939
Deceased Date: August 3, 2015
Bill Pritchard played in a military band while serving the United States for over 20 years. When he retired, he took up what he had loved to do during his service, repairing band instruments. Over the years Bill became an expert on various instruments and conducted classes at the annual NAPBIRT... more
Birth Date: April 23, 1932
Deceased Date: September 3, 2015
Lothar Seifert came from a family of musical instrument makers in the Kirchberg area of Germany. His father, Oskar, began making bows in 1924 and by 1932 has set up a work shop in Graslitz. Like so many refugees, the Seifert family was forced to re-locate after World War II. They had heard of a... more
John Steven is a well respected marketing director from the United Kingdom who has worked with a string of pro audio businesses. He began in the industry working for Korg and later with Rhodes Music and KGa before connecting with Senniheiser UK. Even after leaving Senniheiser in 2008, John... more
Ken Tobias loved repairing guitars for himself and his friends and was able to turn it into a business in the early 1970s when he opened Tobias Guitars in Downers Grove, Illinois. One of his first lines was Martin Guitars and with the help of his son, Paul, several years later the store became the... more
Paul Tobias is the son of the founder of Tobias Guitars, which is located in Downers Grove, Illinois and specializes in handcrafted acoustic guitars such as those made by Taylor, Martin and Santa Cruz. Paul took over as president when his father retired but his father has not gone far from the... more
Enrico Weller is a historian of the musical traditions of Markneukirken Germany. In fact, Dr. Weller wrote an informative volume outlining the many important contributions and innovations by the music industry located in Markneukirken. The book is called “Der Blasinstrumentenbau im Vogtland von den... more
Birth Date: August 25, 1926
Deceased Date: December 22, 2018
Artur Teller created a successful career by producing highly regarded violin bridges and supplying them to luthiers in and around his hometown of Bubenreuth, Germany. Like many of the instrument builders he sold to, Artur and his family moved to Bubenreuth after World War II as the small town... more
Grayson Zeagler grew up in a musical family, singing in the church and playing in the band. Grayson plays the trumpet and began as a young student. His parents opened a sheet music store in 1968 in Monroe, Louisiana and Grayson grew up in the business and said he could think of nothing else he... more
Roger Willson takes great pride in his long association with the Bluthner Piano Company. The association extends to the Bluthner family who entrusted Roger with the position of Managing Director of the Bluthner UK store. During his career in the piano industry, Roger has also served on the boards... more