Oral History Interviews

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 of inspiration. While in medical school he continued to play trumpet whenever he could, which gained the attention of Herbie Hancock who hired Eddie in 1970. He recorded his first two albums with Herbie, Realization (1972) and Inside Out (1973). Eddie continued to record and perform with

George Cables was classically trained on the piano having studied at the High School of Performing Arts in Manhattan and at Mannes College. During his training he never considered a life in jazz but that all changed once he had the opportunity to performer with the likes of Art Blakey and Freddie Hubbard. He has always felt so grateful to play alongside his heroes and, on several occasions, asked them to work with him on a string of albums he began producing in the 1970s. Among the highlights for him was the 1979 album Cables’ Vision with Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson, Tony Du

Cecil McBee studied clarinet in elementary school and was inspired by the encouragement of his band director. He knew from that young age that he wanted a career in music. When he was a teenager he switched to bass and began playing at local clubs and parties. His incredible career includes live performances and recordings with such jazz legends as Dinah Washington, Miles Davis, Jackie McLean, Wayne Shorter and Freddie Hubbard. The 1975 album Mutima for Strata-East Records was his first as a bandleader, seven other albums would follow.

Dave Nicholas was just four years old when he began playing a piano that was left in their new house when they moved in the 1930s. The previous owner had purchased the piano on monthly payments and Dave’s father decided to take over the payments while arranging lessons for young Dave. He later started playing the organ and while working at various holiday camps he met many British entertainment stars including Bud Flanagan and Johnny Ball. After securing a job as an organ salesman at Rushworth & Dreaper in 1971 he was approached by the Royal Philharmonic Hall to play organ in

Sebastian Mariné was encouraged to pursue music by his parents. The roots of his passion for music go back to when he was a small child singing Gregorian Chants in his family’s church in Spain. Music has always been a spiritual expression for him, something he conveys to his students at the Conservatory of Music in Madrid where he teaches. Using the piano, Sebastian began composing music before he was formally trained. Over the years he has worked with several movie directors to create film scores, a process he greatly enjoys.

Suzi Quatro was six years old when she saw Elvis Presley perform on the Ed Sullivan Show and had what she calls her “lightbulb moment,” knowing that was what she was going to do with her life. She started playing bass at 14 when her sisters formed an all-female garage band called The Pleasure Seekers. A poster of the band in Gary Marshall’s daughter's room years later lead to one of her best-known roles as Leather Tuscadero in Happy Days. Suzi has topped the charts worldwide with hits such as “Can The Can,” “48 Crash” and “Devil Gate Drive.”

Harry Gillum was interviewed for the NAMM Oral History program during the Stay-At-Home Orders for Covid-19 in June 2020. His interview was recorded on Zoom and captured his remarkable career in music retail and his contributions to our industry. Harry was just 16 years old in 1971 when he began working at a local music store. About a year and a half later he began to sell instruments for the store and after his first grand piano sale he was hooked. Harry dedicated his career to music retail ever since. In 1991 he had the opportunity to open his own store, Showtime Music in Bridgep

Manel Punti is the Managing Director of Music Distribution, a wholesale business in Spain that his father established in the 1960s. Manel grew up in the music industry as well as a musical family. His father played the piano and encouraged his children (and later his grandchildren) to play an instrument. Manel played the flute and later the organ and piano. He joined his father in business in 1996 selling music books, which soon expanded to include musical instruments and accessories. They teamed up with Kaman and introduced several important bands to the Spanish market.

Antoni Punti and Gabriel teamed up with Keith Mardak in 1972 to form Hal Leonard Spain. The company’s success was fueled by the home organ boom, which was an important milestone of growth for the music industry in Spain. Years before, Antoni was the first person to establish Hammond Organ Studios in Spain and became Managing Director for the famous organ company in 1968. The wholesale business, Music Distribucion, which Antoni and Gabriel later established, helped bring many important brands to Spain including the Pioneer Audio line.

Juan Grecos is the president of Amigos de la Guitarra de Valencia and has served in that position since 2004. The organization is dedicated to showcasing the Spanish classical guitar and more recently flamenco guitar and other related instruments of Spain by presenting concerts at a number of venues and events. Since its establishment in 1950, the AGV has provided over 600 concerts. Juan is the Founder and Managing Director of the RC Strings company and a veteran of the wholesale music industry as well as professional flamenco guitarist and author.

Yuji Tanaka is a Senior Executive Officer for Roland Corporation who has enjoyed a successful career in the music products industry. Yuji provided detail about how and why he came to work in the industry during his NAMM interview. He spoke about the innovations he has witnessed throughout the years, his R & D activities at Yamaha and his experiences at Parsons Music, which was an important part of his personal and professional life. The interview also covers many of the historic products Yuji has played a part in bringing to the market such as those within the Roland line of i

Luis de Pablo was a Spanish classical composer who provided works for symphonies, chamber orchestras, operas, choir and film over his long and successful career. He was born in Bilbao, Spain, and by age twelve was composing his own pieces. Among his influential teachers was the German composer Max Deutsch, who was like a second father to Luis. His first published compositions were collaborations with Maestro Deutsch, which was very meaningful to Luis. In 1953 he composed “Gárgolas” which was followed by a rich body of work that included “Sinfonias” in 1954, “Progressus” in 1959, “

Gabriel Lara was asked to create a series of music books with the Hal Leonard company for the Spain market beginning in 1972. Along with his business partner, Antoni Punti, Gabriel worked with Keith Mardak to form Hal Leonard Spain. During a trip to Milwaukee, Gabriel sat in Keith’s office and they selected songs they felt would be successful in Spain. It was a wonderful experience and one that encouraged Gabriel to continue his career in the music industry, which was not his original training. While studying business administration, Gabriel meet Antoni as the Hammond Organ divisi

José Vinhas is the founder of Música.com, a retail store in the heart of Coimbra, Portugal. Coimbra is the third largest city in Portugal and most known for its university for which the store is located nearby. José began working for the music store Teclado where he not only learned the business but realized he had a true passion for the music industry. When he opened his store Adagio, he created a special environment perfectly fitting musicians of all levels and interests. The third store, Música.com, began as a store front but added the ".com" to the name when he began also sell

Consuelo Diez was strongly encouraged by her piano teachers growing up. One in particular suggested she focus on composition, which altered her career. As a composer, Consuelo wrote works for piano and full orchestras as well as electronic musical instruments. During her 2020 NAMM Oral History interview, she encouraged all those interested in composing to study electronic musical instruments. “You may not want to compose for synthesizers, but this is the instrument of our times and a composer should know all that is available, just as the composer of 100 years ago would study the

José Nogueira was eight years old when his parents started a music business in Porto, Portugal. He took accordion lessons as a child as well as guitar and piano. In 1974, a group of friends formed a rock band combining elements of R&B and jazz, but they already had a piano player so one of José’s band-mates asked if he would play the saxophone instead. José took to the soprano saxophone and quickly discovered it was the perfect missing element of the band. The band, Jafumega, toured and recorded together until 2008 and is known as one of the founders of Portuguese Rock! He als

Agostinho Rodrigues, known by his nickname Tico, is the owner of Porto Guitarra which is located in the center of Porto, Portugal. Even though his education focused on being a mechanical engineer, he grew up playing and admiring the guitar. In fact, he was given his first guitar from an uncle when he was just a baby. As his passion for the traditional stringed instrument grew, he decided to learn how to make them from a well-known local violin luthier. He wanted to share his passion with others and eight years ago, along with his wife Cristina, he opened a small shop to sell and r

Takashi Yamazaki developed a passion for music at an early age. He played guitar and piano and was encouraged by music teachers, which became an inspiration for him in starting his chain of 50 music schools in Japan. In addition, Yamazaki-San opened a music retail store, which grew into five locations. His schools provide lessons for over 12,000 students, who range from young children to adults. One key element to the success of the business is that he is dedicated to training all of his instructors so that they are able to teach to all levels and ages.

DJ Ralph M still remembers a Halloween party he attended in 1982, where he was first introduced to hip-hop and break dancing. He was fascinated by the turntable and his dream was to become a Mixmaster on KDAY, a famous Los Angeles radio station. When he was thirteen, he received that opportunity which was an inspirational and educational moment for him. DJ Ralph M is best known as the DJ and producer for Funkdoobiest as well as working with Chicano hip-hop legend Kid Frost.

DJ Babu enjoys his journey teaching the artform of turntablism, a term he is credited for coining. Since buying his first set of mismatched turntables when he was seventeen, Babu has accomplished a lot, including wining the ITF World Team DJ battle title, producing one of the most popular battle records, Super Duck Breaks, as well as being featured in the classic DJ documentary, Scratch. As fortunate as DJ Babu is with all his success, he has found that educating the next generation of DJs is one of the most fulfilling accomplishments of his career. While still performing, Babu te

This video is of our annual NAMM Tribute, created in honor of our members and music industry friends who passed away in 2003. All moving images within this video indicate those who have been interviewed as part of the NAMM Oral History program. Larger segments of their interviews are posted here on the NAMM website (use the "search this site" white box type their name).

This video is of our annual NAMM Tribute, created in honor of our members and music industry friends who passed away in 2002. All moving images within this video indicate those who have been interviewed as part of the NAMM Oral History program. Larger segments of their interviews are posted here on the NAMM website (use the "search this site" white box type their name).

This video is of our first annual NAMM Tribute, created in honor of our members and music industry friends who passed away in 2001. All moving images within this video indicate those who have been interviewed as part of the NAMM Oral History program. Larger segments of their interviews are posted here on the NAMM website (use the "search this site" white box type their name).

This is a conversation with Yuji Tanaka, a Senior Executive Officer for Roland Corporation. Yuji goes into detail about how and why he came to work in the music products industry, innovations he's seen throughout the years, and what new and exciting products Roland now offers. 

Vidal de Teresa closed his veterinary clinic in 2000 to pursue his dream of establishing a distribution company specializing in exotic woods. His vision was to supply luthiers of guitars and violins with the finest tone woods in the world. Just eight years later, after establishing an impressive client base, Vidal’s business was thrown a curveball when the Lacey Act was enacted in 2008. It was at that time that he realized his team needed to do more than just supply wood, they needed to take responsibility to care for the forests and the next generation of trees.

DJ Qbert brought new energy to Hip-Hop as a DJ in the digital world of turntables. Keeping to the traditions of the pioneering DJs who influenced him, Qbert added new flare to the craft of mixing by utilizing cutting edge technology and gear. His first set up included a turntable where the records would drop down to play from a stack as well as a Radio Shack mixer. Since he could not afford a fader in his set up, he ended up learning how to scratch in reverse. DJ Qbert is a member of the famous turntablist DJ crew Invisibl Skratch Piklz and teaches the art of turntablism online at

DJ Quest thought he was going to be a rapper while his cousin would DJ but once he saw the turntable set up at home he was hooked and never looked back. Quest is a founding member of the Bullet Proof Scratch Hamsters/Space Travelers who created one of the first DJ battle records Hamster Breaks. Known for pioneering “Hamster Style,” which refers to the reverse set up of the turntables into the mixer, many of the best mixers produced for battle DJs have incorporated a “Hamster Switch” or reverse switch. Currently DJ Quest teaches the art form of DJing and turntablism at the Quest Sc

DJ Rhettmatic is an architect of the West Coast Hip Hop sound, jumping into the role of DJ in the very early days of its development. In 1983 he became a member of Double Platinum, a group of DJs based in Cerritos, California. By 1992 he and his crew formed the Beat Junkies, the first turntable group in Southern California. The group consisted of DJ J-Rocc, Curse, Melo-D, Icy Ice, DJ What?!, Shortkut, Symphony, D-Styles and DJ Havik. Over the years other impactful DJs who joined the crew included Tommy Gun, DJ Babu, and Mr. Choc.

Salvador Urbina is proud of his family’s history and legacy in the music industry of Guatemala. His grandfather was an audio technician and saw the need for quality gear as well as repairs. He opened a small audio equipment store in 1957 and soon carried Shure and Audio Techinca. Following in his grandfather’s footsteps, Salvador has focused on expanding the products they carry along with providing state of the art repairs and extensive hands-on training for all of their customers.

Jodi Siegel grew up in a musical family and developed a passion for music at a young age. Jodi started playing the ukulele because of its size but quickly moved onto the guitar. A big influence for her was Duane Allman, whom she would try to figure out how to replicate the sound of without realizing he was playing the slide guitar. Jodi released a solo recording called Stepping Stone in 2007 produced by Tony Braunagel and Terry Wilson.