BklynMario Posted April 22, 2008 Author Share Posted April 22, 2008 Wonderful topic, Mario, and great contributions by other so far. If I may, I'd like to offer comments about a few that I have had the privilege to be taught by and work with over the years: 1) James J. Costello -- 2) George Tuthill -- 3) John S. 'Jack' Pratt - 4) Larry Kerchner -- ALL.....many thaks for the comments and additions. As Tom said, we should submit the names of the geniuses that we knew. I think that the most difficult part of this was defining the parameters. Needless to say, every new name was a perfect fit. Glad theat I could help generate an enoyable discussion...................mario Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donincardona Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 Wonderful topic, Mario, and great contributions by other so far. If I may, I'd like to offer comments about a few that I have had the privilege to be taught by and work with over the years:1) James J. Costello -- Besides being a 'Founding Father' of the Caballeros and its director for over fifty years, he was a drummer, drum instructor for the corps, drill writer and drill instructor for the Caballeros. At the same time, he was drum and drill instructor for the Holy Name, and then Garfield Cadets. I don't know the exact numbers for the era, but Garfield and Hawthorne won numerous American Legion National Championships in the junior and senior divisions during the time when he was instructing both. He was an innovator, but mostly Jimmy was an excellent technician and drill writer, and set the standard for marching execution. It was an honor to have marched under his direction. 2) George Tuthill -- Drum arrangements that were more musical than rudimental, yet fit the drum corps mode and idiom perfectly were George's trademark. The Hawthorne Caballeros, Garfield Cadets, Sunrisers, SkyRyders, L.I. Kingsmen, and N.Y. Knickerbockers are only some of the corps I know of that he wrote for. George came to us in 1969 and I spent my last four years learning from him and marveling at the sounds he produced with our drum section with his creative solos and excellent music accompaniments. We try to recreate his parts as much as possible in the Alumni. 3) John S. 'Jack' Pratt -- The perfect complement to George's musical approach was Jack, the consummate rudimental drummer and technician. He has literally 'written the book(s)' on modern rudimental snare drumming, and most are still in print today. Though considered the 'cleanup man' and technician who made the line execute the show, when it came to creative ideas, Jack was no slouch either. He wrote for and taught many other corps, junior and senior: Newburgh Criterions, Interstestmen, and N.Y. Kingsmen come to mind. 3) Larry Kerchner -- I'm not a horn player, and as a drum corps drummer only, do not even truly consider myself a 'musician.' However, I appreciate the sound of quality arrangements and good horn lines, which Larry has always produced. He also came to the Caballeros in 1969 from Blue Rock, and transformed a struggling horn section almost overnight. The result was our first DCA Title in 1970. His outstanding work was immediately recognized and soon he was doing arrangements for the Muchachos, the Bridgemen and others. His original compositions for the Muchachos are well-known 'standards' in drum corps, including 'Espiritu del Toro,' and 'Pictures of Spain.' Larry is a Grammy-nominated arranger, producer and composer, in addition to writing for many different drum corps and bands. His full history was featured in a multi-part interview last year in Drum Corps World. It is also an honor and my good fortune to know him and work with him. john the men you talked about were truly great men. it is evidence in the fact that their music is still being played today and still is very well received by the people in the stands. these men will live on in drum corps memory for a hundred years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 Wonderful topic, Mario, and great contributions by other so far. If I may, I'd like to offer comments about a few that I have had the privilege to be taught by and work with over the years:2) George Tuthill -- Drum arrangements that were more musical than rudimental, yet fit the drum corps mode and idiom perfectly were George's trademark. The Hawthorne Caballeros, Garfield Cadets, Sunrisers, SkyRyders, L.I. Kingsmen, and N.Y. Knickerbockers are only some of the corps I know of that he wrote for. George came to us in 1969 and I spent my last four years learning from him and marveling at the sounds he produced with our drum section with his creative solos and excellent music accompaniments. We try to recreate his parts as much as possible in the Alumni. He also wrote for Blessed Sac's drumline in 1972. 3) John S. 'Jack' Pratt -- The perfect complement to George's musical approach was Jack, the consummate rudimental drummer and technician. He has literally 'written the book(s)' on modern rudimental snare drumming, and most are still in print today. Though considered the 'cleanup man' and technician who made the line execute the show, when it came to creative ideas, Jack was no slouch either. He wrote for and taught many other corps, junior and senior: Newburgh Criterions, Interstestmen, and N.Y. Kingsmen come to mind. When I was the percussion arranger and instructor for the Wayne Monarchs/King's Regiment in the GSC we worked together. An amazing guy, and quite a character. I used to spend much time at his home in Hawthorne. He had an amazing classical music record collection. If you wanted to hear Dvorak's "New World" he'd ask by orchestra and which conductor. Our second percussion feature with the King's Regiment was a short piece by Wm Walton that Jack had suggested. I wrote it for Brass quintet and percussion...worked pretty well. He also had, before it became popular, and amazing collection of early comic books...e.g. Spiderman #1 as well as Batman and Superman early editions. I can only wonder at how much it would be worth today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdewine Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 MikeD- Repeat after me..."A lot!!!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 MikeD- Repeat after me..."A lot!!!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick6063 Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 Mario, I too had the great honor to march along side Hy and Pepe back in the early sixties. All that you have said about these two legends are absolutly true! As a young adult, I was in awe of Hy and was literally shaking when auditioning in front of him to gain entry into the famous Skyliners. His music renditions still live on and reveal his genius ability. Needless to say, I was enthralled to be accepted into the ranks of the Skyliners and given the opportunity to play his fantastic arrangements. As I try to remember through my musty memories of Pepe, I clearly remember all the glorious and halarious days spent being around him. Always laughing excessively until my sides hurt by his non-stop humor. Along with the wonderment of his talent on the french horn AND his words of wisdom. Amazing!! To this day, I cherish those wonderful days, which now looking back through time, was very very short. I am glad that I at least had that time to experience the joy of being around these fine men. Priceless! Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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