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Saturday, 18 May 2013

A Drummer’s Drummer: Memorial Tribute to Elliot Fine at the Artists Quarter, July 15th

Written by Andrea Canter, Contributing Editor

Friday, 13 July 2012

Elliot Fine©Mark Powers

"Sit down and play; forget every damn thing you learned and just play ... what you naturally feel. First imitate and then create." –Elliot Fine

Drummer, educator, and mentor who was “one of a kind,” Elliot Fine died of cancer in May 2012, just a few days before his 87th birthday. On Sunday, July 15th, family, colleagues and former students will pay tribute to Fine through words and music at the Artists Quarter (7 pm).

Milo Fine©Andrea Canter

In an obituary notice, son and area free jazz musician Milo Fine noted, “Elliot started playing drums at age 11, and his career ran the gamut from drum corps, burlesque, Dixieland, show band, big band, small group jazz, and pop, to 41 years with the Minnesota Orchestra and even occasional forays into free improvisation … Elliot Fine was a drummer’s drummer.” Elliot grew up playing jazz in North Minneapolis, playing at the famed Flame Room in the 1950s where he backed some of the greatest jazz artists of the era. He started subbing for the Minnesota Orchestra which led to his full-time appointment. But he is likely best remembered as an inspiring teacher and prolific author on the subject of drumming. In 1963, he and orchestra section cohort Marv Dahlgren published the acclaimed 4-Way Coordination, a drumset method text that “will forever influence drummers worldwide through its concept of developing equal independence between all four limbs,” notes former student Dave Stanoch. “In jazz drumming speak, it was a book inspired in part by Elvin Jones that also influenced Tony Williams – and this was all firsthand through those drummers’ relationships and encounters with Marv and Elliot.” Said Milo, "When drumming started out, the hands did most of the drumming… treating all four limbs equally ... that was a breakthrough in terms of drum literature at the time." Elliot and Marv furthered their concept through a simple way of writing the music—stacking four lines horizontally, one for each limb, accompanied by a code for what to play. This method, says Milo, is now the standard practice for drummers reading music.

Marv Dahlgren©Andrea Canter

Long-term colleague and friend Marvin Dahlgren will be among the musicians honoring Elliot Fine at the Artists Quarter, along with Milo Fine, the Wolverines, and a host of others.

“His legacy will live on through the countless number of drummers worldwide he influenced through his life’s work. It is a group that includes masters of the art from right here in our own Twin Cities and worldwide as well. Those of us fortunate to have shared in his many gifts personally are all better for it. He was one of a kind.” –Dave Stanoch (Bebopified)

The Artists Quarter is located at 408 St Peter Street in the lower level of the Hamm Building in downtown St. Paul; www.artistsquarter.com. The tribute begins at 7 pm, no cover.

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