Oral History - all
Jerry Portman learned so much from his father and his grandfather about how to treat customers. Those lessons became key as Jerry set out to not only take over the family’s music store, but to expand it over the years. The small shop, which his father, Ben Portman, began in 1936, became the... more
Birth Date: November 14, 1934
Deceased Date: April 1, 2020
Ellis Marsalis had a firm idea how to bring out the best music in people, even before his famous sons were born. His understanding of music theory and notation became the cornerstone of his own career as a musician and that of an unofficial music teacher. Just a few years after Hurricane Katrina... more
Little Freddie King has become a mainstay within the New Orleans music scene. His energetic performances, often with high kicks, always feature his main instrument, the Gibson Flying V! Freddie is so much a part of the blues in New Orleans that he was inducted into the state’s Music Hall of Fame... more
Steven Kinchen dreamed of playing music ever since he was a small child. When he had a chance to work in the music industry following his music degree in college, Steven jumped at the chance. Thanks to a professor’s recommendation, Steven visited with Dan Hall, the founder of Hall Piano Company in... more
Birth Date: January 15, 1926
Deceased Date: December 21, 2017
Dan Hall was the founder of Hall Piano Company, located on David Drive in Metairie, Louisiana. The store was opened in 1958 just after Dan had moved from Beaumont, Texas, where he began his career as a piano retailer. His interesting story in the music industry began by a chance meeting with his... more
Dwight Clements was working at Sears while playing music at night and on the weekends. While visiting a local store in New Orleans, Mitchell’s Music, Dwight asked the owner if there were any openings. Bill Mitchell told Dwight he could start the next week. It was a dream for Dwight who remained... more
Birth Date: December 14, 1943
Deceased Date: February 28, 2018
Bill Causey had a long history of music in his family. His father was a band director and both his father’s brother and sister were fine musicians. Bill had great memories of the family dinners being followed by a sing along and music making! While earning his music education degree he worked... more
Terence Blanchard remembers with pride the special way Lionel Hampton coached and encouraged him. It was his first professional gig and Hamp took the time to share with young Terence, an act of kindness that continues to give to this day. While having a successful jazz career, Terence never... more
Freddie Washington is proud of the connections he has made in the music world as a bass player and that his passion for music has led to so many opportunities to make music with other passionate musicians! His first professional gig was with Herbie Hancock when Freddie was 19 years old. He later... more
Jeanne Stiernberg teams with her husband, John, to run the Stiernberg Consulting Firm. Since the fourth grade, when she began piano lessons, Jeanne has always been active in music. While at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, she conducted research within her field of study of speech and... more
Mark Sampson and his friend, Rick Perrotta, formed Matchless Amplifiers in Mark’s kitchen back in 1989. Two years later they pulled all of their resources to exhibit at the NAMM Show in Anaheim. They felt if ever they were going to make this company a success, it was at that moment: the 1991 NAMM... more
Enrico Monaci loved to hear the stories of his uncle, who started the ORLA Company to make parts for accordions. The company expanded over the years and Enrico grew up helping in every element of the business. During the 1950s they began making reed organs and within a decade the company created... more
Keisuke Kobayashi is the Director and Chief Marketing Officer for Audio-Technica in Japan. His long and very interesting career in the music products industry started when he began working for Yamaha in the 1970s. The company asked if Keisuke-san would travel to the United States as a management... more
Frank DeVille grew up in New Jersey and recalls the many musical instrument stores he visited as a kid, dreaming of becoming a famous musician and his favorite guitar. As his professional career developed he played with many top acts, had his own bands and became an award winning songwriter –all... more
Peter Sprague smiled as the audience at the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, California continued their applause. It was one of many performances that month in mid-2012 for Peter, but a special one to those who heard music in a different way. Peter’s career is filled with... more
Bob Smakula built his first dulcimer when he was 14 years old. Having grown up all around the roots music of West Virginia, Bob loved all aspects of musical instruments. Along with playing and building, he developed great skills at repairing all stringed instruments and took great joy in playing... more
Jasbeer Siingh enjoys the people in the music industry. He lists working with the passionate people of the industry as one of the key factors in his own satisfaction in his job. Back in 1989, Jasbeer opened a small company to supply gig bags and cases to music stores in and around New Delhi. He... more
Mike Remenyi represents the fourth generation of family members running the Remenyi House of Music located in Toronto, Canada. It was his great-grandfather Mihály who opened a small violin shop located in Budapest, Hungary in 1890. Sadly, the family lost the shop after World War II, but soon... more
Michael Remenyi has been the proud third generation of the company his grandfather founded in Hungary in 1890 to build and repair violins and other string instruments. After World War II, the company was closed by the government and it was relocated to Canada. In Canada, Michael’s father and his... more
Ryo Okumoto began his professional musical career as a keyboardist during the height of the electronic musical instrument boom of the 1970s. The synthesizer was growing nearly every month and new sounds were being created at nearly every NAMM Show, an opportunity Ryo-san took full advantage of as... more