The Airmen of Note
Encyclopedia
The Airmen of Note is the premier jazz ensemble
of the United States Air Force
. Originally created in 1950 to carry on the tradition of Major Glenn Miller's Army Air Corps dance band, the “Note” is one of the few touring big bands, and has attracted 18 professional jazz musicians from across the United States
.
Through the years, the Airmen of Note has presented jazz performances to audiences throughout the United States as well as dozens of countries in Europe and Asia. The “Note” routinely produces broadcasts and recordings that are heard on hundreds of media outlets worldwide. Airmen of Note recordings have proven to be among the most popular jazz recordings in the United States, with one release having achieved number two on the JazzWeek Jazz album chart.
sound has remained a central ingredient in the band’s musical heritage. However the “Note” began to adopt a more contemporary sound in the 1950s and 1960s due largely to their stable of staff arrangers, including Sammy Nestico
. Over the past four decades, Mike Crotty and current chief arranger Alan Baylock have continued the band’s commitment to tradition and musical innovation. To augment its writing staff, the Airmen of Note has commissioned works by such arrangers as Bob Florence
, Bob Mintzer
, Rob McConnell
and Bill Holman. Sammy Nestico and fellow Note alumnus Tommy Newsom
have each composed works for the group as well.
Cool Yule - 2009
Airmen of Note Live! - 2007
Out In Fornt - 2006
Keep 'Em Flying -2006
A Holiday Note From Home - 2006
¡Tiempo Latino! - A Celebration of Latin Jazz - 2004
Fifty Years of the Airmen of Note - 2000
Let's Dance - 2000
Invitation - 1999
Christmas Time is Here - 1998
Legacy - 1997
Blues & Beyond - 1996
The Glenn Miller Tradition - 1994/1982
Children of the Night - 1993
Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town - 1991
Jazz Heritage: Old, New, Borrowed & Blue - 1989
Somewhere Out There - 1986
Crystal Gardens - 1985
Bone Voyage - 1984
Better Than Ever - 1983
Noel - 1981
Just the Way We Are - 1980
Live From Mobile - 1979
Just in Time - 1978
Today! - 1978
New Spirit - 1977
Brothers in Blue - 1974
Airmen of Note and Sarah Vaughan - 1974
Come Out Swingin' - 1973
Two Sides of the Airmen of Note - 1973
With a Little Help From Our Friends - 1972
Rock Jazz - 1970
Here Come the Airmen of Note - 1968
Airmen of Note & Friends - 1968
In Concert Sound - 1967
Big Band Sound '67 ~ 1967
Surprising Sounds of the Airmen of Note - 1966
. Many of its members are accomplished clinicians with extensive backgrounds in music education. They routinely lead clinics at high schools and colleges across the country, and are frequently invited to perform at national music conventions, including the International Association of Jazz Educators, Music Educators National Conference
, and The Midwest Clinic.
, Dizzy Gillespie
, Joe Williams
, Sarah Vaughan
and Nancy Wilson. In 1990, the Airmen of Note established the Jazz Heritage Series, featuring the “Note” in concert with icons of jazz. Artists that have joined the “Note” for the program include Clark Terry
, Phil Woods
, Kurt Elling
, Paquito D’Rivera, Nicholas Payton
and Karrin Allyson
. Each year, the Jazz Heritage Series is broadcast over National Public Radio, independent jazz radio stations, satellite radio services and the internet.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. Originally created in 1950 to carry on the tradition of Major Glenn Miller's Army Air Corps dance band, the “Note” is one of the few touring big bands, and has attracted 18 professional jazz musicians from across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Through the years, the Airmen of Note has presented jazz performances to audiences throughout the United States as well as dozens of countries in Europe and Asia. The “Note” routinely produces broadcasts and recordings that are heard on hundreds of media outlets worldwide. Airmen of Note recordings have proven to be among the most popular jazz recordings in the United States, with one release having achieved number two on the JazzWeek Jazz album chart.
Musical style
Throughout the history of the Airmen of Note, the Glenn MillerGlenn Miller
Alton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
sound has remained a central ingredient in the band’s musical heritage. However the “Note” began to adopt a more contemporary sound in the 1950s and 1960s due largely to their stable of staff arrangers, including Sammy Nestico
Sammy Nestico
Samuel "Sammy" Louis Nestico is a prolific and well known composer and arranger of big band music...
. Over the past four decades, Mike Crotty and current chief arranger Alan Baylock have continued the band’s commitment to tradition and musical innovation. To augment its writing staff, the Airmen of Note has commissioned works by such arrangers as Bob Florence
Bob Florence
Bob Florence was an American jazz arranger and pianist. He began taking piano lessons at five and initially intended to be a concert pianist. However, on taking classes with Bob McDonald he changed direction toward jazz.At the beginning of his career Florence worked as a pianist and arranger with...
, Bob Mintzer
Bob Mintzer
Bob Mintzer is a jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader based in Los Angeles, California. Mintzer is a member of the jazz rock band the Yellowjackets.-With The Yellowjackets:*Greenhouse, 1991;*Live Wires, 1992;...
, Rob McConnell
Rob McConnell
Robert Murray Gordon "Rob" McConnell, was a Canadian jazz valve trombonist, composer, arranger, music educator, and recording artist.-Biography:...
and Bill Holman. Sammy Nestico and fellow Note alumnus Tommy Newsom
Tommy Newsom
Thomas Penn "Tommy" Newsom was a saxophone player in the NBC Orchestra on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, for which he later became assistant director. Newsom was frequently the band's substitute director, whenever Doc Severinsen was away from the show or filling in for announcer Ed...
have each composed works for the group as well.
Discography
Airmen of Note "60" - 2010Cool Yule - 2009
Airmen of Note Live! - 2007
Out In Fornt - 2006
Keep 'Em Flying -2006
A Holiday Note From Home - 2006
¡Tiempo Latino! - A Celebration of Latin Jazz - 2004
Fifty Years of the Airmen of Note - 2000
Let's Dance - 2000
Invitation - 1999
Christmas Time is Here - 1998
Legacy - 1997
Blues & Beyond - 1996
The Glenn Miller Tradition - 1994/1982
Children of the Night - 1993
Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town - 1991
Jazz Heritage: Old, New, Borrowed & Blue - 1989
Somewhere Out There - 1986
Crystal Gardens - 1985
Bone Voyage - 1984
Better Than Ever - 1983
Noel - 1981
Just the Way We Are - 1980
Live From Mobile - 1979
Just in Time - 1978
Today! - 1978
New Spirit - 1977
Brothers in Blue - 1974
Airmen of Note and Sarah Vaughan - 1974
Come Out Swingin' - 1973
Two Sides of the Airmen of Note - 1973
With a Little Help From Our Friends - 1972
Rock Jazz - 1970
Here Come the Airmen of Note - 1968
Airmen of Note & Friends - 1968
In Concert Sound - 1967
Big Band Sound '67 ~ 1967
Surprising Sounds of the Airmen of Note - 1966
Music education
The Airmen of Note is a leading force in music educationMusic
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
. Many of its members are accomplished clinicians with extensive backgrounds in music education. They routinely lead clinics at high schools and colleges across the country, and are frequently invited to perform at national music conventions, including the International Association of Jazz Educators, Music Educators National Conference
MENC: The National Association for Music Education
MENC: The National Association for Music Education is an organization of American music educators dedicated to advancing and preserving music education and as part of the core curriculum of schools in the United States...
, and The Midwest Clinic.
Guest artists
The Airmen of Note have recorded and performed with such luminaries as Allen VizzuttiAllen Vizzutti
Allen Vizzutti is an American trumpeter, composer and music educator.Allen Vizzutti very recently recorded his first solo jazz album in some time. "Ritzville" which will be available November 1st, as announced by Vizzutti himself...
, Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
, Joe Williams
Joe Williams
Joe Williams may refer to:* Cyclone Joe Williams , Negro Leagues baseball pitcher, a.k.a. "Smokey Joe" Williams* Joe Williams , achieved prominence in the late 1950s* Big Joe Williams , delta blues singer...
, Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
and Nancy Wilson. In 1990, the Airmen of Note established the Jazz Heritage Series, featuring the “Note” in concert with icons of jazz. Artists that have joined the “Note” for the program include Clark Terry
Clark Terry
Clark Terry is an American swing and bop trumpeter, a pioneer of the fluegelhorn in jazz, educator, NEA Jazz Masters inductee, and recipient of the 2010 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award...
, Phil Woods
Phil Woods
Philip Wells Woods is an American jazz bebop alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader and composer.-Biography:...
, Kurt Elling
Kurt Elling
Kurt Elling is an American jazz vocalist, composer, lyricist and vocalese performer. Born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Rockford, Elling first became interested in music through his father, who was Kapellmeister at a Lutheran church...
, Paquito D’Rivera, Nicholas Payton
Nicholas Payton
Nicholas Payton is a jazz trumpet player from New Orleans, Louisiana.-Biography:The son of bassist and sousaphonist Walter Payton, he took up the trumpet at the age of four and by the time he was nine he was playing in the Young Tuxedo Brass Band alongside his father...
and Karrin Allyson
Karrin Allyson
Karrin Allyson is an American jazz vocalist. She has been nominated for three Grammy Awards, and has received positive reviews from several prominent sources, including The New York Times, which has called her a "singer with a feline touch and impeccable intonation."-Career:Allyson grew up in...
. Each year, the Jazz Heritage Series is broadcast over National Public Radio, independent jazz radio stations, satellite radio services and the internet.
See also
- United States military bandsUnited States military bandsThere are many military bands in the United States military. Some are assigned to specific military bases or units. There are also bands associated with each of the service academies....
- Guide RightGuide RightGuide Right was a TV series which aired on the DuMont Television Network from February 25, 1952 to February 5, 1954. Sponsored by the United States Air Force, and featuring The Airmen of Note directed by Fred Kepner, each 30-minute episode was hosted by Donn Russell.-Episode Status:The UCLA Film...
(DuMont TV series, 1952-1954)
External links
- Unofficial Website of the Airmen of Note Site features mp3 recordings of the Airmen of Note albums.