Kaman Music Corporation

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.

Dick Bell was surprised by the impact he had on the music industry, a fact that became clear to him at the NAMM Show 2009, when the Roland Corp gave him a retirement party and NAMM requested an interview for the Oral History program. He began his career in the music industry, as Dick said, “with no training at all.” He worked in the supply department at Kaman before the aerospace company branched out into the guitar business in the 1960s. A decade later Tom Beckman hired Dick for work at the newly formed American branch of the Roland Corporation, where he stayed until his retirement.  

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. 

Dave Campbell grew up in a household full of music! Both of his grandmothers were piano teachers and his father was a professional piano player. With such a strong background in music it was no surprise that Dave became a professional musician and made it his career until his early 30s. Dave also had a strong interest in engineering and put both passions together by getting involved with the piano industry. He worked for Kimball Pianos before being hired by Charlie Kaman,who formed Carrier Pianos in North Carolina. After building the factory and running the operations there he was hired by his long time friend, Peter Perez, to run the Aeolian Corporation of America in Memphis, Tennessee.

Paul Damiano has played a critical role in the growth and development of Kaman Music ever since first joining the company in the early 1980s. With a great understanding and passion for marketing and manufacturing, he was able to design processes that increased the company’s success especially in considering the ever-changing global market. Paul has also been very active in the music industry working closely with NAMM, PASIC and music educators to develop meaningful programs that encourage music makers around the world.  

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. 

Jeff Hasselberger has played a very important role in the development of music makers! His ideas of conveying statistical material to music educators to assist in saving school programs led to the widely successful Einstein Kit. Jeff’s eye for detail and understanding of the music industry has also been key to other programs funded by NAMM, such as the Piano 300. His love of music began as a child and shows no signs of stopping! In addition, Jeff knows the industry, he knows the companies and the people who built them, and he has worked with them and NAMM to grow the market. After working with many leading companies such as Kaman and Hoshino, Jeff has gained the respect of the industry.
 

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.