OH Taxonomy
Emile Baran began a music retail business that led to the opportunity for expanding into the music wholesale business. Emile formed DeKalb Music Supply, a music retail store in Decatur, Georgia in 1958. Several years later he expanded into the wholesale business, thanks in large part to his...
Ndugu Chancler cut his teeth as a jazz drummer but later expanded his scope to include the blues, pop, soul, and funk. As a jazz drummer, he worked with an incredible line up of artists over the years including Miles Davis, George Benson, Herbie Hancock, Gerald Wilson, Frank Sinatra, Thelonious...
Vincent McBryde picked up the saxophone at the age of 5 and played in bands throughout high school and into college, where he studied music with the hopes of becoming a band director. After a year of teaching he fell into the music products industry where he became a leader and visionary. After...
John Pisano is the jazz guitarist heard on thousands of recordings, covering artists from Frank Sinatra and Natalie Cole to Chico Hamilton and Diana Krall. His lush sound and rhythmic ideas have been a great influence to millions of young guitar players over the decades. John has been a regular at...
Allan Pearlman grew up in Queens New York and taught at a local high school after college before working in the music industry. In 1975, Sid Hack, hired Allan as a sales rep for Unicord, the same company his father, Ben, worked for 31 years. Allen loved the industry and continued to work for the...
Dave Weckl was proudly inducted into the Modern Drummer Magazine's Hall of Fame in 2000. The award was extra meaningful to Dave given the list of previous winner who inspired his playing when he was a kid. Dave grew up in Missouri and studied Jazz in Connecticut before moving to New York for his...
Akira Jimbo, a drummer out of Japan, has been playing drums since he was 17. Akira has released over 10 solo albums throughout his career and has demonstrated a passion for education through his instructional videos. In his 2008 interview, Akira talks about his unique playing style and how others...
Ralph MacDonald grew up in Harlem, where he was exposed to many musical traditions. As a drummer, he focused on his African roots and as a songwriter he relied on his soulful understanding of the blues. Ralph wrote "Where Is the Love", the Grammy winning song made popular by Roberta Flack and Donny...
Gerry Brown went to school with Stanley Clarke, who always encouraged Gerry to follow his passion for music. Years later the two old friends recorded an album together called School Days! Gerry went on to perform and record with Stevie Wonder for nearly 20 years and other artists such as Chick...
Dafnis Prieto grew up in a musical neighborhood in Cuba where he quickly fell in love with the drums. During his 2008 NAMM Oral History Interview, Dafnis discussed some of his musical influences and what the term “groove” means to him. Facilitating masters classes, clinics, workshops and serving as...