arrangers

Hawley Ades was hired by Irving Berlin in 1932 to assist the legendary American songwriter with musical arrangements.  Hawley stayed with Berlin for five years before being hired by choir master and bandleader Fred Waring.  He joined Mr. Waring at the time the bandleader hoped to launch his own music publishing company, which became Shawnee Press.  Hawley wrote a noted method book on choral conducting and thousands of published arrangements for Shawnee.  In Fact, he worked for Shawnee Press until Mr.

Andy Clark is one of the great characters of the music publishing industry! Over the years, Andy has served as a musician, band director, arranger, composer, and publisher. With a keen sense for school music programs, Andy has been able to develop and strengthen various programs by providing meaningful materials and services to students and band directors alike. In 1988, after co-founding Norman Lee Publishing, Andy was hired by C.L. Barnhouse and has been instrumental in the company’s growth ever since.  

Walter Ehret was the music arrangers’ equivalent to Mel Blanc – the man with a thousand voices. Walter was the man with a thousand pseudonyms. Under his various names, he arranged for most of the major publishers over a career that spanned over 50 years. His work was mostly centered around choral music. He had a strong interest in bringing to light lost works and works of composers who had gone largely unnoticed. He was a pioneer in music publishing and a man with great talent.  His NAMM Oral History was completed on June 9, 2007.  Mr.

Joe Guercio is best known for the 8 years he served as Elvis Presley’s musical director, beginning in Las Vegas in 1969. He formed the orchestra that backed Elvis and his band on every tour until the King of Rock’s passing in 1977. Joe arranged Elvis’ stage introduction and wrote the 6-note fanfare that began each of his live concerts during that time. Joe also conducted several other singers in his career and arranged hit songs for Steve & Edie, Barbara Streisand and Gladys Knight. 

Max Herman played his first professional music job at the age of 13. He has since enjoyed a stellar music career as the first trumpeter for many of the top name bands of the Swing Era. Most notably, Max was the first trumpet in the Bob Crosby Orchestra. His second career was that of music publisher, forming Fiesta Music and Herman Music. His third career was that of President of the Musicians Union, for which he is credited for many advances of that organization.

Jim Hughart was born into a family of professional musicians and is proud of the many musical experiences he had growing up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Right after graduation from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Theory, Jim was drafted into the Army. For two years, he traveled throughout Europe performing bass with the 7th Army Symphony Orchestra. After his discharge from the Army, he joined Ella Fitzgerald, with whom he toured for three years. He settled in Southern California and has been very active in the recording studios, having participated in over 200 record albums, 300 motion picture scores, and countless television shows. 

Stephen “Doc” Kupka met Emilio Castillo in July, 1968, and discovered they both had a dream to form a rock and roll band with a strong horn element. By the end of the year the band began touring and was discovered by Bill Graham two years later when the Tower of Power recorded their first album, East Bay Grease. Doc and Emilio wrote most of the band’s songs including most of their long list of hit records including “What Is Hip?,” “So Very Hard to Go,” and “Only So Much Oil” among others. Tower of Power continues to tour with one of the tightest horn sections around!  

Johnny Mandel is the arranger and composer who may be best known for writing the theme to the movie and television series M*A*S*H*. As a songwriter he spent several years in the 1940s and 50s plugging his songs in the Brill Building in New York, the then hub for music publishing. He spent years working in Hollywood and for big bands as well as penning popular songs for artists such as Tony Bennett.
 

Bobby Martin was one of the architects who developed the Philly Sound that provided a unique twist of soul and funk records of the 1960s and 70s. As a producer he worked with many top artists of the day and as an arranger he gave us the blend of blues and funk on “For the Love of Money” with the O’Jays as well as smooth love songs such as the Bluenote’s big hit “If You Don’t Know Me By Now,” which featured a young Teddy Pendergrass. Bobby’s passion for music as a vibraphonist began when he first heard Lionel Hampton in concert and his career in music soon followed.

Billy May was a fun loving trumpeter who arranged some of the best-loved music of the Big Band Era! His humor and musical talents provided hit recordings for Glenn Miller, Charlie Barnet and Frank Sinatra, to name but three. His enormous output included radio, TV and movie work as well as thousands of studio recordings over his 6 decades as a musical artist. When NAMM first requested that Mr. May record some of his stories for the Oral History program he shied away from the request. It wasn’t until Sammy Nestico made the request on behalf of NAMM that Mr. May and Mr. Nestico were interviewed together. It was a historic event, which we proudly add to our collection.