History of the Airmen of Note

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The Pete BarenBregge Band (1989-1998)

Bruce Gates , Jimmy Lay or Rich Haering, Larry Trautman or Rich Sigler, Vaughn Nark or Tim Leahey (tp), Rick Lillard or Joe Jackson , Doug Elliott or Jeff Martin, Gary Hall or Ben Patterson (tb), Dudley Hinote (btb), Joe Eckert , Saul Miller or Doug Gately or Andy Axelrad (as), Pete BarenBregge, Doug Gately or Saul Miller (ts), Don New (bs), Mike Rubin or Wade Beach (p), Paul Henry (b), Rick Whitehead or Wayne Wilkinson or Shawn Purcell (g), Juanita Williams or Tracey Wright (vcl), Mike Crotty, Paul Rawlins, Alan Baylock (arr)

CMSgt. Pete BarenBregge came to the helm of the Airmen of Note following an early career as a music educator and ten years in the Note’s sax section. When he inherited the band, the personnel were pretty well set except for the brass section, where retirements claimed half of the trumpet section and lead trombonist Dave Steinmeyer. Rick Lillard moved up to lead trombone, and his chair was filled by jazz trombonist Doug Elliott. Rich Haering and Rich Sigler were the two additions to the trumpet section, replacing the retiring Jimmy Lay and Larry Trautman. Haering was assigned the lead book, and Sigler, an excellent jazz soloist, was sometimes featured on his electronic valve instrument (EVI), a wind-controlled synthesizer.

Pete didn’t make any major changes to the musical direction of the band, but he didn’t allow the band to stand still either. Mike Crotty was the band’s principal staff arranger at this point, and he continued to introduce creative new charts to the book. However, a major problem was producing enough fresh arrangements to keep up with the band’s needs. With their busy schedule, they needed new charts every week, otherwise arrangements tended to get worn out with repeated performances. To help take some of the load off Mike, as well as to keep fresh ideas flowing, Pete commissioned new arrangements from highly respected outside composer-arrangers such as Bob Florence, Tommy Newsom, Steve Owen, Bob Mintzer, Gary Lindsey, Matt Harris and former Note bassist Tom Williams.

Airmen of Note vocalist Juanita Williams

Another problem Pete faced when he took over the band was that the Note no longer had a vocalist. This was especially critical on protocol jobs. The band borrowed Juanita (DiShazior) Williams from the rock group, Spectrum, for the 1990 spring tour and then were fortunate to be able to bring her on full time. A very versatile singer, she could cover all styles from pop-rock to jazz. Her forte was the blues, and at concerts she often included a show-stopper where she traded licks with Saul Miller or one of the other horns.

Relatively few personnel changes took place over the nine years Pete had the band, but they were significant.

In 1991, both Rick’s retired to begin free-lancing in the Washington , DC area. Wayne Wilkinson from the Air Force Academy Band replaced Rick Whitehead, who had been with the Note since 1970 and is second only to Dave Steinmeyer in number of years spent on the band. Joe Jackson , who came from Dallas , Texas via the Maynard Ferguson band, replaced Rick Lillard. In 1992, tenor sax man Doug Gately traded places with jazz alto saxophonist Saul Miller to give Miller more opportunities to exercise his dynamic solo capabilities. In 1993 Doug retired and was replaced by Andy Axelrad, previously lead and solo alto saxophonist on the Glenn Miller Orchestra.

Note saxophonist Andy Axelrad

In 1994, Vaughn Nark retired to become a brass clinician for Yamaha. Since joining the band, Vaughn rose from relative obscurity to national prominence, being featured on every recording and major live performance the Note did while he was with the band. His chair was taken by Tim Leahey , from Youngstown State University . An outstanding musician, Tim was the winner of the 1991 International Trumpet Guild Competition. The same year saw Mike Rubin retire, with his place being taken by Wade Beach from the Diplomats combo.

Vocalist Tracey Wright

The year 1996 also proved to be a year of changes. Juanita Williams retired in April after 24 years of service with the Air Force. She was replaced by Tracey Wright from the Band of the Air Force Reserve at Robins AFB,

Georgia

. A ten-year Air Force veteran, Tracey brought a wide range of experience and includes pop, jazz, country, rhythm & blues, gospel, patriotic, and Broadway music in her repertoire. Jazz trombonist Doug Elliott and guitarist Wayne Wilkinson left the Note in the fall and were replaced by Shawn Purcell and Jeff Martin. The following year Gary Hall, after 22 years in the Note’s trombone section, moved to another assignment within the Air Force Band and was replaced by Ben Patterson.

On September 28 1990 , the Airmen of Note celebrated their 40th anniversary, performing to a packed house at the Kennedy Center . Special guests were Tommy Newsom, Sammy Nestico, Toni Tenille, and Dave Steinmeyer, with Paul Anthony serving as Master of Ceremonies. The program featured musical selections from different periods of the band’s history as well as some special arrangements that were written by Tommy and Sammy especially for the concert.

On the following night a dinner and an informal concert were held at the Bolling Air Force Base Noncommissioned Officer’s Club to honor the band alumni. The dinner was well attended, with all but one of the band’s former leaders being on hand, as well as a large number of musicians, including virtually the entire brass section from the original 1951 band.

The Diplomats Trio provided dinner music. After dinner, the Airmen of Note was the focus of attention, with a number of the alumni sitting in over the course of the evening, including Newsom, Steinmeyer, Fred Kepner, Gary Scott, Don Grossi, Bob Snyder, Charlie Almeida, Dave Napier, Jimmy Odrich, Johnny Osiecki, Jim Towsey, John Dodge, Tim Eyermann, Jimmy Lay, Ken Smukal, Dick Perry, as well as vocalists Jackie Roberts and Bobbie McCleary.

Another element of the Note’s 40^th anniversary celebration was the release of their first CD - Jazz Heritage: Old, New, Borrowed, and Blue - a selection of “Swing Era” classics dressed up in contemporary style, offered as a tribute to the many great big bands that laid down the foundations of this uniquely American musical style.

Hardly had the excitement of the 40th anniversary celebration passed when the Airmen of Note almost became history. Under pressure to cut personnel costs, the Air Force in the spring of 1991 proposed reducing the band to a combo, with only five horns, a rhythm section, and a vocalist. Once again, the tremendous public support enjoyed by the Note saved the day. Entertainment icons such as Doc Severinsen and Down Beat magazine appealed to the public, and the avalanche of letters and telephone calls convinced management that other cost-reduction measures should be investigated. Doc Severinsen argued that “this . . . assault on one of the few truly professional big bands must not be taken lightly in this time of widespread cuts in the arts.” Perhaps it was poetic justice that the decision to reinstate the endangered positions was announced at a Memorial Day concert, when the Airmen of Note performed on the same program as Doc Severinsen and the National Symphony Orchestra.

Saul Miller solos as Jazz Heritage Series guest Randy Brecker looks on

In 1990, to encourage interest in jazz as a unique American art form, the quarterly Jazz Heritage concert series was unveiled, first at the Smithsonian and later at other venues in the Washington area. An impressive array of Jazz Heritage guest artists have appeared with the Note, including Bunky Green, Marvin Stamm, Bob Mintzer, Kent Jordan, Louie Bellson, Don Menza, Hal Galper, Joe Williams, Stanley Turrentine, Arturo Sandoval, Rob McConnell, John Faddis, Clint Holmes, Nick Brignola, Allen Vizzutti, Chris Vadala, Ernie Watts, Randy Brecker, Bobby Shew, John Fedchock, Claudio Roditi, Charles McPherson, Bob Berg, John Dankworth and Cleo Laine, James Williams and Ronnie Cuber.

The Note also continued to participate in the Air Force Band’s Guest Artist Series, which during Pete’s tenure as leader included concerts with Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band stars Ray McKinley and Peanuts Hucko, jazz pianist/educator Dr. Billy Taylor, British jazz vocalist Cleo Laine and her husband, saxophonist/arranger Johnny Dankworth, jazz vocalist Diane Schurr, former Count Basie vocalist Carmen Bradford, and vocalists Toni Tenille, Helen Reddy and Leslie Uggams.

Guest Artist Ernie Watts and Note guitarist Wayne Wilkinson

After a two-year hiatus, the Note resumed their concert tours in the spring of 1990, doing 14 concerts in the southern California area. Considerable care went into both the selection of concert sites and publicizing the performances to insure that they would reach the right audiences. The tour was so well received that it was reinstated as a regular part of the band’s schedule. Since then, tours have covered Pennsylvania/New York/Ontario (1991), Illinois/Missouri/Kentucky (spring 1992), Florida (fall 1992), southeastern states (spring 1993), California/Nevada (fall 1993), Indiana/Michigan/ Illinois (spring 1994), mid-Atlantic states (fall 1995), the southeastern states (spring 1996), midwestern states (fall 1996), Oregon/Idaho/Utah (fall 1997), and Maryland/Pennsylvania/ New York/Ontario (spring 1998).

The 1991 tour was unique in that two Airmen of Note alumni rejoined the band to fill in for musicians who were on the sick list. Kenny Smukal had already agreed to sub for trumpeter Vaughn Nark when bassist Paul Henry came down ill. Pete was sitting in his office wondering how to fill in for Paul when Brent McKesson, then visiting Bolling AFB on business, happened to walk by. Brent, who was then serving as the band superintendent at Lackland Air Force Base, agreed to join the tour, and the day was saved.

In the summer of 1989, the AON concert tour went international, as the Airmen of Note traveled to Brazil as guests of the State Department and the Brazilian Air Force. They visited Natal , Rio de Janeiro , Sao Paulo , and Brasilia , where they did both public and official concerts, workshops with the Brazilian Air Force Band, and a special performance for the U.S Ambassador and guests. Accompanying the Note were four vocalists from the Singing Sergeants. A second trip to Latin America was made in the fall of 1990, with visits to Brazil , Uruguay , Argentina , Chile , and Panama , this time as part of the Serenade in Blue package.

1991 saw the release of the Note’s second Christmas album, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town, in which Mike Crotty’s imaginative arrangements showcase the solo capabilities of the band members. Everyone on the band got a chance to shine. The title song featured trombonist Rick Lillard vocalizing as well as soloing on his swinging and humorous tribute to “that awesome dude in the funky red suit.” - CONTINUED -