Ovation Guitars

Tim Angell grew up interested in the craft of woodworking. As a teenager he became interested in stringed instruments. With little woodworking opportunities in New Jersey, Tom and his wife moved to Connecticut where Tim found a job at Ovations Guitar. He worked his way through many departments learning all of the stages of guitar building and participating in design and general modifications. Fascinated with computers and databases he kept track of serial numbers and statistics of the assembly and output of the shop. The parent company, Kaman, was impressed with his research and offered him a job at the headquarters up the road in Bloomfield.

John Beltrandi served as a road rep for Kaman Music on the east coast for over 40 years. He traveled mostly in Massachusetts and Connecticut and helped pioneer the Ovation guitar, which was not well accepted when it was first introduced, but built up a strong audience in the early years. The Ovation guitar was introduced in 1966 and by the time John came to the company a few years later, singer Glen Campbell had used the instrument on his TV program. As a result, the guitar became a popular item making it difficult for John to keep up with the requests from his many retail customers. Among the favorite elements of his career were the friends he made along the way.

Robert Brilhart is the eldest of the sons of mouthpiece pioneer Arnold Brilhart. Arnold was a well-known saxophonist in the early days of recorded jazz and throughout the Big Band Era. All the while, Arnold kept making small adjustments to his equipment such as his mouthpieces, mutes, and even simple accessories such as the saxophone neck strap. Both sons provided personal insight into their father’s career. Bob Brilhart became President of the Brilhart Company during the mid 1960s and was later hired by Kaman to help market the Ovation Guitar. 

Gene Brown joined the Ovation Guitar Company within the first year of the company’s establishment in 1966. After serving in the United States Army during Vietnam, Gene was immediately offered a job in the shipping department. The Ovation Guitar Company is located in New Hartford, Connecticut, and was founded by Charles Kaman. Mr. Kaman pioneered several designs and guitar innovations such as the round back fiberglass guitar. Gene was among the first to participate in the production and shipping of the Ovation Guitar. Gene worked in various positions over the years, most recently in the service department taking care of customer needs. 

Jol Dantzig met Paul Hamer in college and played together in various bands before the two formed their own retail and teaching studio. They soon found themselves designing and building their own style of electric guitars and basses. With the help of two other friends, the Hamer Guitar Company was created in the 1970s. They made a splash in the industry with a series of innovative instruments and with a bass model helped popularize the Flying V, which had not been a success when Ted McCarty at Gibson had introduced it two decades before. After the company was sold to Kaman, the owners of Ovation Guitars, Jol moved to New Hartford, Connecticut to oversee the operations and to continue to design new products. 

Jim Hennessey was working for Kaman Aerospace when he was transferred to the Ovation Guitar division. Jim worked closely with Charlie Kaman on several projects and later worked in the advertising department for Ovation. Jim expanded his duties to run the endorsement program and helped sign over 300 artists to Ovation in the 1970s. After leaving Kaman, Jim formed The Music People in 1979, which began as a distributor but later became a manufacturing company as well. Jim’s creative thinking led the company to produce a long line of music accessories including the On Stage Stands brand and the Hennessey brand of products.

Gabe Ireland joined the Coast Wholesale Company while in high school. After college he continued to work for the company as the rock and roll boom began and the entire industry began to change. He stayed with the company after it was purchased by Kaman Music and worked his way up the corporate ladder. He became the expert on marketing and took great pride in studying the concept, which in many respects, was new to many businesses as a strategy for product sales. Gabe later helped establish KHS America, serving as the company’s first president before his retirement. 

 Bill Kaman served as president of Kaman Music Corporation, a company started by his father. Under Bill’s direction, Kaman Music expanded its product line, developed overseas markets, and acquired new companies to be managed under the corporation. In addition, he has also insisted on new and innovative improvements to the instruments under the Kaman name, particularly the Ovation guitar. Bill served on the NAMM board during the early days of market and development activities, supporting the industry’s growth beginning in the early 1990s. His interview included is views on his father’s contributions to both the aerospace and music industries.

Hai Muradian sang in his Kindergarten class and soon realized he really wanted to be on the stage to entertain people. After singing and playing flute in rock bands as a teenager, Hai began working in the studios and touring with several bands for several years until he landed a job at a local music store. While at the store he was introduced to the Coast Wholesale salesman and the idea appealed to Hai. He remained with Coast until it was sold to Kaman where he remained as a dealer rep, which he always has enjoyed.

Allen Prather, known throughout the industry as Lowell, became a well-respected sales rep for the Kaman Corporation. He stayed with the company for over thirty years and helped move the company into markets such as Arizona. Lowell has developed friendships among his dealers over his long career, something he always felt was the result of being honest and believing in the products he was selling. He introduced the Ovation Guitar into several markets and took pride in being associated with the Kaman family.