Posted on January 17, 2010February 6, 2024 by Dale Phillips In Memoriam: Dell Staton In Memoriam: Dell Staton by H.E. Huttig Originally published in American Lutherie #19, 1989 Miami has been hit with a number of losses just recently. Everardo Lopez, a fine Cuban guitar builder and Salvado Mayo, a performer and friend of Everardo died in a car accident. Then there was Marino, a fine performer of both folkloric and classical music. Jose Fernandez was another impeccable craftsman, a maker of concert grade guitars. I own a guitar made by Jose, and it is the favorite of Carlos Barbossa-Lima to use while visiting us. Lastly, there is Dell Staton, a terrific jazz guitarist, inventor, and repair expert. The untimely death of Dell Staton is keenly felt in Miami guitar circles. I met Dell in the ’60s through Juan Mercadal. Dell was born on a farm and wanted to play guitar ever since he saw one from a distance. He finally got one, probably a Stella, and being left handed, he played it upside down with the bass strings on the bottom. He progressed so far that it was too late to change the strings when he found out about it. Dell Staton with members of the Miami Guitar Society in the ’60s. That’s Dell with the guitarron and Marjory Morton playing the guitar. I don’t know the name of the lady at the left, but the others are (L to R) Hart Huttig, Chico Taylor, Juan Mercadal, and Dr. and Mrs. Bohn. Photo courtesy of H.E. Huttig. Dell served with the U.S. forces in Germany and was billeted with a German family of guitar builders in Saxony. Though Dell was the enemy, the Germans took to him and he became like one of the family. When he was to leave, he tried to board a truck in the convoy, but being the last man in line, he was told to take the next truck as they were too full. That truck hit a landmine and all the soldiers were killed. When Dell left, the Germans gave him one of their own guitars, a beauty made of flamed maple with the workmanship of the violin maker. Beside being a greatly talented artist, Dell made inventions and did repairs. He took the bass pedals from an electric organ and played bass accompaniment with his feet. He bent a wire coat hanger and put it between the guitar strings behind the bridge to make the first vibrato device. Dell was a consummate jazz artist but he also played classical music well despite the handicap of the string arrangement.
Posted on January 17, 2010February 7, 2024 by Dale Phillips In Memoriam: Graham Caldersmith In Memoriam: Graham Caldersmith November 26, 1943 – October 5, 2019 by Juan Oscar Azaret Originally published in American Lutherie #140, 2020 As the devastating 2019/2020 Australian bush fires raged on and the world was filled with news and images of the relentless infernos, I started to wonder about the well-being of my friend in lutherie, Graham Caldersmith, and his partner, Angela MacPherson. I’d had the good fortune to spend a day at their home/workshop/bistro in Comboyne, New South Wales, in August of 2017 (see AL#132). This magical day was full of adventure: the trip to the Comboyne Plateau, warm hospitality on the part of Graham and Angela, and a wealth of education in the few hours I spent there. In January of this year I was getting ready to e-mail Graham to ask about the state of the bush fires in the Comboyne area, when I got an e-mail from my friend Gila Eban, who had been having similar thoughts. In her attempts to contact Graham, she had learned of his passing in October of 2019. I was greatly saddened by this news and felt compelled to share some thoughts in memoriam. Both photos courtesy of Angela MacPherson In time I was able to get on the phone with Angela. She and Graham had recently moved away from the rural hamlet of Comboyne to the seaside town of North Haven some 44km to the East. Angela was most gracious to chat for quite some time and catch me up with the last two-plus years since my visit as well as educate me a bit on Graham’s life. Coincidentally, I had just received the latest issue of Acoustics Today where the cover and feature article were dedicated to the life of Carleen Hutchins. I thought of Graham and the parallels in these two lives. Both started their careers as science teachers. Both played stringed instruments and taught themselves lutherie early in life. Both became fascinated by the science and craft of the violin family, and for Graham, also the guitar family. Both were influenced by noted scientists; Frederick Saunders and Daniel Haines in the case of Carleen, Neville Fletcher and Erik Jansson in the case of Graham. They both took on the challenge of lifelong search for the fundamentals of acoustics in lutherie, sharing their findings through many scholarly articles and lectures. And they each evolved a family of proportional instruments to cover the orchestral range — Carleen’s violin octet, and Graham guitar quintet. Of course, Graham and Carleen’s paths did cross. In 1982, Graham travelled to the USA to work with Carleen on various aspects of violin performance and participate in the Conference of the Catgut Acoustical Society in DeKalb, Illinois. Carleen was a founding member of the Catgut Acoustical Society dating back to 1963, and membership has included the top music acousticians from around the world; names such as Benade, Fletcher, Hutchins, Meyer, Saunders, and Rossing. Graham contributed no fewer than thirteen articles to the society, starting in 1977. The proceedings of the Catgut Acoustical Society are now digitized and available from the Stanford Musical Acoustics Research Library. While still in the northern hemisphere in 1982, Graham also attended the GAL Convention in Estes Park, Colorado. Later that year he contributed his first publication to American Lutherie — “Dissolving the Mysteries,” a title which, in his AL#2 (1985) article, “Radiation from Lower Guitar Modes” Graham describes as “perhaps presumptuous.” A longtime member and supporter of the Guild, Graham contributed several other stellar articles. In his AL#41 (1995) article, “The Guitar Family Continued,” he comes full circle from the work introduced in AL#18 (1989) “Towards a Classic Guitar Family,” and details the status of what has become a major contribution to the world of guitar lutherie and performance — a proportional guitar family quintet covering the orchestral range. In my AL#132 (2017) article, I attempt to summarize Graham’s thoughts on the guitar family during our visit in his Comboyne workshop. On a less formal note, in AL#8 (1986) Graham and fellow Australian luthier Jim Williams document a “beer and jawbone” discussion with Greg Smallman which offers a fascinating look at Greg’s thinking during the early years preceding the first sale of a Smallman guitar to John Williams in 1981. Graham was a luthier of the highest caliber, crafting over 200 guitars, 116 violins, 60 violas, and 38 cellos, but he was also an academic and a researcher. He held a masters in aerophysics from the Australian National University in Canberra with focus on fluid dynamics. While working as a laboratory manager and physics tutor, he started independent research into musical acoustics, and in 1977 began formal studies in acoustics under Neville Fletcher at the University of New England in Armidale and later with Erik Jansson in Stockholm. He was awarded several grants and research fellowships including from the Australian Council on Research, a Churchill Fellowship, ANU, and in 2016 was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for his service to musical instrument making. His work is documented, not only in American Lutherie and Catgut Acoustical Society Journal, but also Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Journal of the Violin Society of America, Journal of Guitar Acoustics, The Strad, Acustica, and others. It is indeed rare to find an individual with the commitment and tenacity to earn his/her living as a craftsperson while at the same time researching the craft’s relations to science and making these findings available to the world. In my discussions with Angela, she mentioned that Graham considered the evolution of a proportional guitar family and the introduction of native Australian woods to lutherie as his greatest professional achievements. Graham researched, and was a strong advocate of, the use of King William pine, Australian blackwood, and Australian paulownia, among others, for the construction of guitars and violin-family instruments. I knew Graham through the lens of his lutherie and scientific work, but in my discussions with Angela I learned a bit about Graham as a man. I learned of his days as a folk musician; his participation in theater; his love of poetry and contribution to it from the humorous perspective; his love of nature; his fix-anything, jack-of-all-trades skills; his days as a volunteer fire fighter; his work as a sound/light stage technician. I dare not attempt to comment on these aspects of Graham’s life, but Angela graciously provided some photos which hopefully will be illustrative. They will be posted in the “web extras” section of this issue on the GAL website, along with links to many of his publications. Graham Caldersmith was born on November 26, 1943, in Sydney. He lived and worked in Canberra, Kendall, Comboyne, and North Haven. He passed away on October 5, 2019, in Wauchope after a five-year battle with multiple myeloma; suspected, but not confirmed, as being due to exposure to the chemicals of the lutherie trade. He is survived in his immediate family by an older brother, and by his partner Angela MacPherson. I am honored to have known Graham and met Angela, and to have had the opportunity to write these few words.
Posted on January 17, 2010February 7, 2024 by Dale Phillips In Memoriam: Felix Manzanero In Memoriam: Felix Manzanero July 27, 1937 – August 18, 2019 by Ronald Luis Fernández Originally published in American Lutherie #139, 2020 By 1966, my father, John Fernández, was importing guitars from Félix Manzanero Cabrera. He sold most of them through Seiko Sesoko in Anaheim. Some of these were bought by Laurindo Almeida and Manitas de Plata. I got to know Félix in 1967 when I attended summer school at the Universidad de Madrid. His shop was the first working shop I had seen, and I was amazed. We became friends and occasionally stayed out late, visiting strange eateries or playing tangos on his laud and my guitar in local mesons (traditional taverns). Among my memories in his shop was meeting Sabicas when he returned to Spain after a thirty-year absence, and playing farrucas with his brother, Diego. Photo courtesy of Iván Manzanero Félix was born in 1937 in Madrid during the Spanish Civil War. His father was a musician. At age fourteen he apprenticed at the shop of José Ramírez II, where he spent twelve years. He made over a thousand guitars there, and those guitars are identified by his initials stamped inside. I once repaired a “Ramírez” flamenco owned by Neil Diamond identified by that stamp. Of significance is the fact that Félix was making guitars under José Ramírez III, during the time that the modern 1a classical, which Andrés Segovia eventually embraced, was evolving. In 1964, Félix opened a store at 12 Calle Santa Ana in the La Latina section of Madrid. There he built Madrid-school guitars from old wood and taught his two sons to do the same. He also built experimental instruments such as an elliptical guitar, one without braces, several with soundboards of both cedar and spruce, and a laud with twelve sympathetic strings. He developed a method for testing soundboards before permanently affixing them to the body. Over the decades of his career he acquired over a hundred old instruments dating back to the 18th century. This collection is presently available for viewing on the web at: www.guitarrasmanzanero.com. In 1985 he was invited by the Mexican Government to present a course on Spanish guitar construction in Paracho, Michoacán. This was an important opportunity for Mexican makers. German Vazquez Rubio in Los Angeles, California, told me he attended that course. My friend Félix was fun to be with; warm, friendly, and open. He loved his wife and family. He liked to travel. He drove all over Spain. He came to visit California a few times and hand-carried an unvarnished flamenco to me. He went to Cuba and Egypt with his wife. I would refer people to see him in Madrid, and he would take them to his local bar-restaurant across the street and treat them royally. Félix had a thick Madrid accent. His family had been in Madrid for many generations. Félix had a brother Pedro who had worked at the Ramírez shop and apparently did repairs, but I never met him. He is survived by his charming wife Soledad and his sons, Félix Jr. and Iván. Iván makes guitars, preserves the collection, and runs the business in the original shop. Oh, yes, before I forget: comedies and ham. Félix loved Spanish dried ham. In his Madrid flat he had a full leg of Patas Negras (the best Spanish ham) on a special holding device for easy access. And in his living room he had small statues of the Marx Brothers and Laurel and Hardy. Adios, Félix.
Posted on January 17, 2010February 7, 2024 by Dale Phillips In Memoriam: Leo Bidne In Memoriam: Leo Bidne June 20, 1954 – March 6, 2019 by Tim Olsen Originally published in American Lutherie #137, 2019 Unless you have been a Guild member for a very long time, you may not remember Leo Bidne as a GAL staffer. But he was, back in the long-gone days of the mid-’70s when it was a strictly volunteer position, and we would sweep the chips off the workbench to paste up the copy, then hand-collate and staple the newsletter. GAL staff members in 1975. From left: Bon Henderson, Leo Bidne, Bob Petrulis, and Tim Olsen. Deb Olsen was holding the camera. These hippies posed in front of our current GAL headquarters, which is the same building as Tim and Deb’s house. At that time it was the location of Tim’s lutherie shop, where Bob and Leo joined Tim in lutherie pursuits. (This photo was part of the slide show, The Making of a Newsletter, which was prepared in 1975 for the 2nd GAL Convention held in Evanston, Illinois, which Leo attended with Tim and Deb.) Both photos by Deb Olsen. From left: Tim, Leo, and Bob at the 2014 GAL Convention. Bob continues to serve the Guild as a member of our Board of Directors. Leo was a guy who could just do things. It seems like anything that caught his interest, he would simply do: repairing and building guitars; writing and arranging music; playing most any musical instrument. And then, as he grew older and our paths diverged, he moved into audio and video recording and production, and became the proprietor of a music store. He was a family man with children and grandchildren, for whom he would build amazing things like a full-sized R2D2, and produce elaborate Star Wars fan films starring the neighborhood kids. I guess he never lost that naive belief that by doing the fun and create stuff that came naturally to him, he could make the world a better place — which he did, for American luthiers and for many others.
Posted on January 17, 2010February 7, 2024 by Dale Phillips In Memoriam: Fred Campbell In Memoriam: Fred Campbell August 12, 1952 – February 17, 2019 by Tom Ribbecke Originally published in American Lutherie #137, 2019 Frederick William Campbell died at his home with Elizabeth Holmes, his partner of eleven years, at his side. The cause of death was prostate cancer. He leaves adult twin sons, Ryan McKinley Bumpbell and Douglas Scott Campbell. Fred was born in Indiana, where he learned woodworking from his grandfather and his father. He served as an Army Ranger in East Germany, then came to California and worked in the shops of several luthiers including Hideo Kamimoto, Charles Fox, and Tom Ribbecke. He started his finishing business when he was at Kamimoto’s shop, and named it Fred Campbell and Sons although his kids were still tiny at the time. Photo courtesy of Carol Keig. Fred was very active in the South Bay Scottish Society and was marshal at the Scottish Highland Gathering and Games. He was also a guitarist and loved to play at open mikes. I have a fond memory of Fred arriving at a friend’s house for rehearsal dressed in kilt and regalia with a 19 ft. caber on the roof of his old station wagon. Fred often talked about how he missed the dog love of his life, Boomer. The last time I talked to Fred before he died, I told him I hoped he would meet Boomer at the rainbow bridge. A celebration of Fred’s life is being held on June 1 at Ribbecke Guitars, a place that has seen many lutherie parties where Fred was present. Donations in memory of Fred can be made to the National Veterans Foundation or the Rainforest Action Network.
