Larry "Link" Linkin’s name may not be all that familiar to most jazz fans, but this master clarinetist and retired president of the trade organization NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants), the International Music Products Association, has devoted himself over a colorful 40-year career to the global promotion of music education and music-making advocacy.
Larry Linkin’s parents were not musicians, but they did have an extensive record collection of all the popular tunes of the day. Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw were the two bandleaders that got young Larry’s attention, so the clarinet became his instrument of choice when he started playing in the fifth grade. Maurice Wright, a music teacher in the Burlington, Iowa school system for 40 years, had a tremendous influence on the aspiring musician.
“Link,” as he is known, remembers as a young clarinet student standing in front of the stage at the Memorial Auditorium listening to all the Big Bands and famous musicians who passed through Burlington on their way to Chicago. He also remembers the many evenings he spent playing in Crapo Park as a member of the Burlington Municipal Band.
Education
He had a full scholarship to major in music at the University of Iowa, and later found out that the funds actually came out of the Athletic Department’s budget. It seems that football coach Forest Evashevski wanted a “hot b
