JIM PRIME
Class of 2002
INSTRUCTOR / ARRANGER / MENTOR
Cadet Years: Brass Instructor/Arranger (1980-1984)
HIS CADET STORY:
Jim Prime, Jr., has dedicated his life to drum corps. An accomplished teacher, Prime is respected for his unending concern for the kids. According to Thom Hannum, "Prime's students and colleagues have nothing but the highest regard, not only for his musical talent, but his personal integrity. "Jimmer" (as he is called by his friends) is kind, thoughtful and humble qualities which endear him to any individual he encounters."
Jimmer chose to create a different sound and through utilizing Donnie VanDoren's unique brass ensemble approach, and the sound of the 1980s Garfield Cadets was born. Donnie and Jimmer had taught Crossmen as assistants in 1979. Jimmer recalls,
“ In 1980, Garfield had that kind of show that different arrangers contributed to, and George Hopkins needed some revisions to the charts and I was allowed to do the revisions. Following that, they allowed me to write the concert number. In 1981, I started writing the whole book for Garfield. 1982 was the year Garfield tried to stretch the boundaries. The show was built on an attempt to be seamless. The show was formatted in a different manner than people were accustomed. Motion and visual became a mutual driving force for the music selection and arranging. George Zingali came on board to write the drill and his genius and our respect for his creative ability to interpret the music provided the impetus for visual and music to have a mutual partnership.
There was much more to come for me; including two more years with Garfield and a year (1985) with Troopers during a time I was not going to do drum corps. But Jim Jones called me and I couldn't turn him down because I had been a fan of Troopers from my youth. In 1986 I went to Star of Indiana and stayed until the corps' last year in 1993. "Brass Theater" and "Blast!" followed. I wrote for Ventures in the middle 1980s, arranged for the Blue Knights from 1990-1992, the Boston Crusaders from 1993-1994 and I've written for two Championship DCA corps, the Sunrisers for four years in the 1980s and Hawthorne Caballeros for two years in the 1990s. I continue teaching elementary instrumental music in Elizabeth, N.J. I enjoy and appreciate it more now than I ever have, but once again, I'm often reminded of those lessons that I learned as a youth in drum corps and I can honestly say it influences me every day in my teaching.”
Says Dennis DeLucia, "If the artistic growth of drum corps in the '70s can be defined in part by the brass arrangements of DCI Hall of Famers Jim Ott, Wayne Downey and Jim Wren, then the drum corps sounds of the '80s and '90s are defined by the creative brilliance of Jim Prime, Jr."
Time and time again, Prime has demonstrated his ability to reach the fans through his musical arrangements. Spanning three decades, Prime has given us "West Side Story," "Rocky Point Holiday," "Mass," "Porgy and Bess" and "Pines of Rome," among many other memorable melodies.
Says DeLucia, "He is everything he seems: Talented, brilliant, passionate about music and education and compassionate about people."
