44 years ago today, the drum corps activity lost one of it’s greats. Jim Ott, an amazing brass arranger for the Stockton Commodores, Concord Blue Devils, and Spirit of Atlanta, was killed in an auto accident while on tour with Spirit in 1980. The corps dedicated that season to his memory and their inspired performance at DCI Finals in Birmingham, Alabama, is one of many highlights of the 1980 drum corps season.
In 2015, I was honored to perform at DCI Semifinals with the Jim Ott Bras Ensemble (JOBE), a multi chapter group from across the country, as we paid tribute to Jim Ott and his arrangements. Performing his original arrangements on G bugles, JOBE entertained the Semifinals crowd, wowed some Spirit age outs with our rendition of Georgia On My Mind, and, we hope, did Jim Ott’s memory proud.
