Herbie Hancock
Rich Formidoni cut his teeth in the industry as a salesman in the keyboard division of Sam Ash Music in Queens, New York. That experience led to his move to Korg in 2005 as a product specialist. The move was the perfect fit for Rich who was then tasked with producing demo videos, artist relations...
Marty Sheller was the award winning arranger and jazz trumpeter whose musical skills can be heard on hundreds of recordings. He worked with Mongo Santamaria for many years (yes, that is Marty taking the trumpet solo on “Watermelon Man”) beginning in 1961. Marty was also the house arranger for Fania...
Stephen Zelenka has had quite the career in the music industry. His love for music started early while he was growing up and playing gigs in London, he eventually landed a job working for the band Gentle Giant. This job entailed a lot of tasks associated with touring, and Stephen earned the...
Billy Hart was born in Washington DC, where he was exposed to the drums at a young age. He worked with several R&B groups before landing an important gig with the jazz singer Shirley Horn, who taught Billy the fundamentals of working with a soloist. In the mid 1960s Billy performed with Wes...
Eddie Henderson is a medical doctor who found himself in high demand by some of the legends of jazz. His mother was a dancer at the Cotton Club in New York and had the connection to introduce young Eddie to Louis Armstrong. Louis provided Eddie with his first trumpet lesson and was a great source...
Vail Johnson was the seventh son in his family, all of whom played a musical instrument. It was part of life, just like eating and sleeping. His great grandmother was an opera singer and Vail was always encouraged to sing and play. His professional career hit a milestone when Kenny G hired him to...
Hubert Laws Jr. is an American flutist and saxophonist with a rich family history in the music industry. Specializing in jazz and classical, Hubert started playing the flute in high school and eventually attend the Juilliard School of Music on a scholarship in 1960. With credits like playing in the...
Greg Phillinganes reminds one of a chameleon with his innate ability to perfectly blend into any musical situation or setting. While still a teenager, Greg had the opportunity to join Steve Wonder’s Wonderlove band. This opportunity would help shape Greg’s musicality, giving him exposure to and the...
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...
DJ GrandMixer DXT brought the turntable front and center as a musical instrument! DXT is a proud member of the "first generation" of DJs in the dawn of Hip-Hop. When he recorded a session that was played for Herbie Hancock, the result was the breakthrough hit instrumental "Rockit." The success...