Music & Musical Instruments

This case for a drummer’s throne (Cat. 1988.0075.09) is made from fiberboard, with metal rivets and fittings, webbing, and a plastic handle. It was used by the Ray McKinley band, 1970s-1980s. The case is stenciled:

RAY MCKINLEY

American jazz drummer, singer, and bandleader Ray McKinley (1910-1995) made his first recordings with Red Nichols, where he worked with Glenn Miller and Jimmy Dorsey, in 1931. McKinley continued to work mostly with Miller and the Dorsey Brothers (Jimmy and Tommy) through 1939. He then was a member of Will Bradley’s band through 1942. After enlisting in the Army in 1942, McKinley joined Glenn Miller’s American Band of The Allied Expeditionary Forces (AEF). After Miller’s disappearance in 1944, McKinley co-led the band with Jerry Gray.

After the war, McKinley formed his own band and worked as a freelance musician. In 1956 he was commissioned by the widow of Glenn Miller to organize a new band under Miller’s name using the original library and style. This band made a successful tour of Iron Curtain countries in 1957 and continued to tour the United States until 1966. McKinley played drums while Buddy DeFranco fronted the band from 1966-1974. McKinley continued to perform through the 1980s.

This harmonica was made by William Kratt Co. in the United States, ca. 1972. It is an Ultra-Monica Chromatic model harmonica in the key of C, with 12 single holes, 48 reeds, and a metal slide. This harmonica has a metal and brown stained wooden comb and metal cover plates attached to the top and bottom with screws and nuts. Accessioned with original plush lined case. The harmonica is embossed:

PROFESSIONAL SUPER-CHROMATICA
ULTRA-MONICA

(and):

MADE IN U.S.A. A 440
WM. KRATT CO.
TRADE MARK

This tagging tool was made by the Dennison Company in Framingham, Massachusetts, late 1970s. It is a Dennison Mark III Swiftacher model, with a blue plastic grip tag case, and a metal needle inserter. This object was used to attach this filament and tags through layers of material. The tagging tool is stamped:

USA Dennison TM

(and with a printed label):

MARK III
Electric Tool

This object features the following patents:

U.S. Patent #3103666, dated September 17, 1963, by Arnold R. Bone, assignor to Dennison Manufacturing Company, for a tag attaching apparatus.

U.S. Patent #3734375, dated May 22, 1973, by Arnold R. Bone and Ronald W. Krohn, assignors to Dennison Manufacturing Company, for a fastener inserting machine.

U.S. Patent #3880339, dated April 29, 1975, by Arnold R. Bone, for a fastener dispensing apparatus.

Arnold R. Bone (July 26, 1913 - August 9, 2001) was an engineer, inventor, gunsmith, string instrument bowmaker. He grew up in South Ryegate, Vermont, and graduated from Wentworth Institute in 1935. After graduation, Bone worked at Irwin Auger Bit Company in Wilmington, Ohio before returning to Wentworth to teach Navy machinist mates during World War II until 1944. The final part of his career, Bone worked at Dennison Mfg. Company in Framingham (now Avery Dennison) when he retired in 2000.

Arnold R. Bone held numerous patents at Dennison, including several for the Swiftacher, the device for attaching tags to clothing with a nylon filament. His ubiquitous fasteners are still used today. Bone applied his engineering and master craftsman skills to making string instrument bows, and also became one of the world's most respected experts on repair and restoration of fine bows. His customers ranged from young students to members of professional ensembles such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and bows were shipped to him from all over the world.

This rhythm synthesizer, or drum machine, was made by Made by Gibson, Inc. in Lincolnwood, Illinois, around 1965-1970. It is a Maestro Rhythm King model MRK-1, serial #M-11676. Accessioned with vinyl cover.

This analog drum machine has 18 pre-programmed rhythm buttons:

Latin (orange): Bossa Nova; Samba; Bolero; Rumba; Cha Cha; Mambo; Tango; Paso Doble
American (yellow): Slow Fox; Slow Rock; Swing; Dixie; Shuffle; Go Go; Disco
Traditional (blue): March Polka; Western; Waltz

A control panel is comprised of : On-Off Pilot; Volume knob; Speed knob; Downbeat (light)
8 trigger buttons to produce individual sounds: Bass Drum; Snare Drum; Hi-Hat Cymbal; Tom Tom; Bongo; Blocks; Clave

This bow was made by Glasser Manufacturing Company in Bronx, New York, around 1970-1975. It is a violoncello bow made of fiberglass, with a wood frog, metal screw, plastic tip plate, and horsehair. It is stamped:

GLASSER

This bow features U. S. Patent #3456544, dated July 22, 1969 by Leon Glasser, for a musical instrument bow made of reinforced plastic.

This violin bow was made by Glasser Manufacturing Company in New York, New York, late 1970s. This bow was sold with a 1/16 size Suzuki violin (Cat. #2014.0181.04). It is stamped:

GLASSER

This bow features U. S. Patent #3456544, dated July 22, 1969 by Leon Glasser, for a musical instrument bow made of reinforced plastic.

This drum was made by an unknown maker, provenance unknown, late 1960s-early 1970s. It is an African Drum, made of a carved wooden shell, attached to a hand-made metal stand, with an animal skin drumhead, edges covered with a leather strap that is nailed to the shell. This drum appears on an image on the back of the album Ubane by Mongo Santamaria and Justo Betancourt, released in 1976 (Cat. #2005.0030.16). Previously used by Afro-Latin jazz percussionist Ramon "Mongo" Santamaría.

Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría Rodríguez (1917–2003) was a Cuban percussionist and bandleader who spent most of his career in the United States. Primarily a conga drummer, Santamaría was a leading figure in the pachanga and boogaloo dance crazes of the 1960s. From the 1970s, he recorded mainly salsa and Latin jazz, before retiring in the late 1990s. Santamaria made several recordings as a leader of his own group, as well as a sideman with Fania All-Stars, Tito Puente, Dizzy Gillespie, and Ray Charles.

This trombone was made by Meinl & Lauber in Gartenberg, Germany, around 1969-1970. It is an E-flat alto slide trombone. The trombone is made of brass. It is a reproduction instrument patterned after an instrument by Michael Nagel in 1656, Nurnberg. This trombone is inscribed:

MICHAEL NAGEL NURNBERG
KOPIE
MEINL & LAUBER
GARTENBERG
BAYERN

This violoncello was made by Sergio Peresson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1971. There is an original label inside the instrument:

Philadelphia
1971
Sergio Peresson

(and stamped):

S.PERESSON

Sergio Peresson (1913–1991) was an Italian-American violin maker. Born in Udine, Peresson began making violins in Italy in 1943. Four years later, Peresson moved to Caracas, Venezuela, where he made new instruments and was repairer to the Venezuelan Symphony Orchestra. In the early 1960s he moved to Philadelphia and worked for the firm of William Moennig & Son from 1963-1971. In 1971 Peresson moved to the suburb of Haddenfield, New Jersey and continued to make instruments until his death in 1991.

This button is from the Queen Mary Jazz Festival in Long Beach, California, in 1978. It is made of white paper with blue ink covered with a clear film, on a two-piece metal button with a pin back. The button is printed:

UNITED JAZZ CLUBS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
1978
3rd ANNUAL
QUEEN MARY
JAZZ
FESTIVAL
SUNDAY, OCT. 29th

Floyd Levin (1922-2007) was a Los Angeles textile manufacturer who turned his passion for jazz into a second career as an influential jazz journalist and historian. His numerous reviews, profiles, and articles were published in magazines such as Down Beat, Jazz Journal International, Metronome, and American Rag. He also authored Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians. Items in this collection (2011.3086) were acquired from Levin’s attendance at Jazz Festivals, conferences, and other music events.

This harmonica was made by Alfredo Hering, S.A. in Brazil, around 1965-1970.
It is a Seductora Hohner System model in the key of C, with 24 double holes and 48 reeds. This harmonica has a brown stained wooden comb with metal cover plates attached to the sides with nails. Accessioned with original cardboard box. The harmonica is engraved:

SEDUCTORA
MADE IN BRAZIL SISTEMA HOHNER