Richard Messner (18 December 1907 – February 1972) was an American band leader.
The Five Brothers made their radio broadcast debut in 1923 on NBC, then known as WJZ.
When the Messner brothers started the Philo (later Aladdin) label, Norman Granz was on board to produce a legendary session by Lester Young with Nat Cole on piano.
In 1936, Dick Messner introduced an idea in New York called "Tymphonic Music" — an ensemble of 10 Timpani, a harp and an augmented violin section in a band of 18 musicians.
It was believed that the experiment was the first time that Timpani had been used wholesale for modern music.