Until recently, there were more than a dozen club entertainers in the Baltimore Metropolitan area who exclusively used arranger keyboards as their sole instrument. Some were members of this forum and included myself, Ray Bastianelli, Joe Ayala, Jimmy (jimsax) McKinney, Dennis Fox, Johnny Walker, Jerry and Elsa Burns, Gary Alesandro, Helmut Licht, Larry Scott, Bob Lee, Norm & Carlos, and a few more than I can no longer recall their names. Most of them worked in Baltimore's Little Italy, the Inner Harbor, and clubs in the surrounding counties for decades, relying on their keyboards and vocals. The vast majority never used midi files and did everything using onboard and third party style files. Nearly every one of them switched to the NH circuit, but still continued to play weekends in the restaurants and clubs, mainly for the money. As many of you are well aware, the NH circuit is far more lucrative than the club circuit in this part of the world.

Some of the above listed entertainers have passed away in recent years, and I miss them dearly. I believe I'm the only one that has managed to retire, which is something I'm proud of. So, at least in this part of the country, arranger keyboard entertainers are still in the game and going strong.

Gary