Ah . . . Larry! I spent many, many, hours in his shop – many more on the 405 driving to and from – and not a few at his dinner table when he decided traffic on the dreaded 405 was too bad for me to drive home. He worked really, really, hard at projecting a pseudo-grumpy carapace that masked a huge heart of gold.

I was a wet-behind-the-ears kid when we met, but he always treated me like a pro! I met many soon-to-be colleagues in his shop as well as future repair-tech giants, Bob Malone and Don Sawday, who both at one point could be found sweeping his shop as apprentices – old school!

Bob Malone once wrote, “I would not be where I am today without my good fortune to have had Larry say yes, when I asked him for a job. If there was ever a more creative soul with an ability to channel a unique idea into reality, I do not know who it is. Larry was a true genius and left us far too soon . . .”

Jeff Reynolds said: “We were like brothers.The guy was simply a genius. He could solve any problem.” 

Larry did a LOT of work for me over decades. My friend, Rich Bullock, used to have a horn Larry built for me. Other folks have some of my other “frankenbones” he “re-animated.” Larry was sought out by brass players great and small worldwide.

Here’s a little Larry Minick History and his Online Trombone Journal obituary.

I was honored to play at his memorial service. RIP my friend.

Les Benedict has a lovely memorial post on his blog.

Great man. Great mind. Great friend!

You can see a young Larry at work in this little film.