Hi everyone,  For some time I've taken particular pleasure in the
performances of Howard Lutter, for Artempo and Welte.  Until now,
biographical details have been sketchy.  L. Douglas Henderson suspected
he was of German extraction and named Wilhelm Kornbau (named as the
pianist on some identical earlier Artempo performances), who changed
his name following the outbreak of WW1.

I've done some digging in the wonderful genealogical resources the
web has to offer, and can confirm that they were one and the same.

Howard Harry Lutter was born on June 10, 1889 in Newark, New Jersey,
and was also known as Wilhelm Kornbau (why, this is not clear!).
His father was Hermann Lutter, who was born May 1, 1860, in Germany,
and his mother Clara Uhl, born August 1865 in Newark.

Howard married Ethel Laurel Winteron, who was born September 30, 1891,
and had two children: Clifford Charles Lutter (born March 18, 1915 in
Philadelphia, PA, and Beryl Enid Lutter, born April 1, 1918, in New
Jersey.  The marriage appears to have ended (Ethel died in 1961 in
Newark).  He married again later, to Fiorita Lorenze, who was born
February 5, 1890, in Germany.  Howard Lutter died May 3, 1959, in
California, still working as a musician.

His son, Clifford Lutter, worked as a photographer, and died January
28, 1980, in Essex County, NJ.  His daughter Beryl died February 22,
1988, in Laguna Hills, Orange County, California.  Both married but
no children are listed, however a living relative does exist.  I have
emailed her asking her if she was aware that Howard Lutter was a piano
roll artist, and will share the results of my correspondence with you
all.

I hope you all find this of interest, even though it's terribly dry --
Lutter has always been a favourite of mine and it's nice to discover
something about his life!

Robert Perry
Auckland, New Zealand.