TO: Producers & Engineers Wing Advisory Council Members

TECHNICAL GRAMMY® SAMPLE BIO

A good Technical GRAMMY bio is:  A summary of specific contributions, major developments or techniques, and what impact this individual had on the recording industry (please include any available citations or footnotes which will not be considered part of the 500 word limit). Your personal thoughts on why this person is deserving of the Award can also be included.

A good Technical GRAMMY bio is not:  Pasted directly from Wikipedia or promotional marketing copy

GOOD SAMPLE BIO: IKUTARO KAKEHASHI/ DAVE SMITH In 1983, a collaboration between competing manufacturers resulted in a new technology that was introduced at the winter NAMM show where Ikutaro Kakehashi, founder of Roland Corporation, and Dave Smith, president of Sequential Circuits, unveiled MIDI, (Musical Instrument Digital Interface.”)

They connected two competing manufacturers’ electronic keyboards, the Roland JP-6 synthesizer and Sequential Circuits Prophet 600, enabling them to “talk” to one another using a new communications standard. The presentation registered shockwaves during the show, and ultimately revolutionized the music world.

Prior to this, the popularity of the electronic keyboard was swelling--as were the stage setups of performing keyboardists— since these instruments were unable to “talk” to one another, requiring a dedicated keyboard for each sound needed. Mr. Kakehashi initiated discussions with his primary Japanese competitors – Yamaha, Korg and Kawai in 1981.

At the same time Dave Smith started discussions with the major U.S. synthesizer manufacturers including Moog, Oberheim, ARP and E-mu. In November, 1981, Smith presented a paper at the AES Convention in New York about USI (Universal Serial Interface). In January, 1983, Roland, Yamaha, Korg and Kawai – with Mr. Kakehashi acting as coordinator, spokesperson and leader, met with Dave Smith of Sequential Circuits, to formalize the technology. Kakehashi and Smith came up with what was called the “MIDI 1.0 Specification” and published that as an industry-wide application. Remarkably, It is still in use today completely unchanged since its inception. This year marks the 30th anniversary of that unheard of visionary computer code.

Today, MIDI is ubiquitous in the musical equipment industry, and is the de facto standard feature on virtually every electronic music product made by every manufacturer. Thanks to Mr. Kakehashi’s and Mr. Smith’s vision and leadership, keyboards, drum machines, synthesizers, sequencers, and even computers, can now easily “talk” to each other. Much of today’s music, including most likely a significant number of GRAMMY-nominated and winning songs and records, has been written, recorded and performed using instruments “talking” to one another via MIDI.

As the founder of Roland Corporation, Kakehashi has been the mastermind behind the world’s first programmable drum machine, the first computerized music sequencer, the first digital synthesizer with integrated effects processing and the acclaimed V-Series of electronic instruments. Mr. Kakehashi remains active in the day-to-day activities at Roland Corporation where, under his leadership, the company continues to introduce groundbreaking products.

Dave Smith founded Sequential Circuits in the mid-1970s, one of the earliest U.S. companies to manufacture professional music synthesizers. Mr. Smith recognized early on the potential impact of the synthesizer on contemporary music: Enabling different types of manufacturer’s instruments, each with its proprietary sounds and electronics specifications, to “talk” with each other. Years after co-leading the industry into adopting the MIDI standard, Dave Smith sold Sequential Circuits to Yamaha Corporation. Today he continues to be active in the music products industry and is still creating unique instruments through his company, Dave Smith Instruments. (480 words)