History of the Airmen of Note

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The Note performing as part of the recreated Miller AAF Orchestra in Clarinda, Iowa

Another interesting event took place during 1992, when Sammy asked the musicians of the “Airmen of Note” to record a number of examples of his writing for a CD to accompany his forthcoming book on arranging.  “Airmen of Note” is in quotes because this was not done as an official activity of the band, the recording being accomplished in the band’s off-duty hours.  Sammy chose the Note’s musicians because he wanted a group that performed together regularly and was familiar enough with the musical styles to be able to competently perform these charts with a minimum of rehearsal time.  His book, The Complete Arranger, was published in 1993 by Kendor.

Because the Airmen of Note usually perform before a varied audience, their typical concert features something for everybody.  Only at special events such as a jazz festival would the band pull out all the stops and perform a full menu of their more advanced charts.  The Note’s early albums were intended to show off the full range of the band’s capabilities.  Since the late 1970’s, the movement has been toward concept albums, which showcase either a particular genre (examples being the Glenn Miller and Christmas albums), a particular artist (such as Bobbie McCleary or Dave Steinmeyer), or some of the charts that are not so apt to be performed in typical concerts.  Their 1993 CD - Children of the Night - does all three.  It is a genre album in that it features works of composers of the bebop and post-bebop period, it features the work of a single arranger, Mike Crotty, and it features advanced charts, demonstrating why the Airmen of Note are on the cutting edge of contemporary big band jazz.  On three of the 11 tracks the band was augmented by strings.

President Bill Clinton with Pete BarenBregge and the Airmen of Note

In August of 1994, the Airmen of Note performed for the Retired Air Force Musicians Reunion in Williamsburg , Virginia .  The event was organized by Note alumnus Eddie d’Alfonso, who had occupied the French horn chair when Sammy Nestico led the band in 1954-55.  Many other alumni were present, including Tommy Newsom, Fred Kepner, Sammy Nestico, Bob Bunton, Gene Egge, Dave Napier, and Dave Steinmeyer.  Sammy gave the band a heartfelt introduction in what turned out to be a memorable evening.

In November of 1994 the Note and a recreation of Glenn Miller’s AAF Orchestra’s “Crew Chiefs” vocal quintet were invited to perform in the annual Macy’s Day Parade in New York City .  The band rode on a flatbed truck, and the intent was that the band would lip-sync to pre-recorded music as the “float” passed by.  However, this plan was foiled by an enthusiastic response from the crowd, complicated by extended delays in the parade’s progress, which made it impossible to fool the crowd with their lip-synching.  So the band ended up playing Juke Box Saturday Night live for most of the parade in bitterly cold weather.  This required the musicians to play while wearing gloves, which was tough, but it pleased the two million spectators along the parade route.

The Glenn Miller theme continued in December as the Note joined other elements of the Air Force Band at Constitution Hall in Washington, DC, in a tribute to Glenn Miller titled Remembering the Glenn Miller AAF Orchestra: 1943-45.  The concert was held on the 50th anniversary of his disappearance in a flight across the English Channel .  Once again the Airmen of Note were augmented by strings, French horn and percussion, but this time, dressed in Pinks and Greens, they recreated the music of Glenn Miller’s legendary Army Air Forces Orchestra.  Vocals were provided by Bobbie McCleary and the Crew Chiefs.

This program had premiered some months earlier at the Air Force Association’s annual convention and was conceived as the Air Force Band’s musical tribute to the men and women that served in the armed forces in World War II.  In May of 1995 the ensemble made a 24-day trans-continental tour to standing room only audiences.  In June, they played Carnegie Hall and on the Fourth of July performed before a crowd of 350,000 at the Esplanade in Boston . This very popular show has been performed many times since, with especially enthusiastic receptions at the 1996 and 2000 Glenn Miller Birthplace Society Festivals.

Following the Glenn Miller theme, the Note in 1994 reissued their 1982 album The Glenn Miller Tradition on CD.  Added were four newly recorded arrangements from the Glenn Miller library, including Mission to Moscow, a Mel Powell chart from the book of the AAF band, and Bill Finegan’s beautiful arrangement of Stardust.

In the summer of 1995, the Air Force Band moved into new quarters, the former Bolling Hangar No. 2, which was completely remodeled as a state-of-the art rehearsal and support facility.  After 45 years of sharing World War II wooden temporary buildings with other units of the Band, the Airmen of Note now have their own rehearsal studio, as well as an office and storage space.

Throughout their history, the Note has consistently maintained a strong commitment to the field of jazz education in high schools and universities through educational clinics and performances.  In 1995 Airmen of Note assistant music director Joe Eckert helped make this a formal part of the band’s program by first proposing and then developing the Jazz Outreach series.  The purpose of Jazz Outreach, a series of clinics and concerts held at high schools and colleges across the nation, is to further jazz education by allowing young musicians to have close access to professional players.

Collegiate jazz festivals give the Note additional opportunities to present Jazz Outreach performances and clinics.  University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Fullerton College, University of North Florida, Towson State University, University of Northern Colorado, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Notre Dame University are just a few of the college festivals in which the Note presented Jazz Outreach.

During the last half of the 1990s the band also performed regularly at conventions of the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE) and other music profession convocations such as those of the Percussive Arts Society and the Texas Bandmasters’ Association.

The 1997 IAJE convention in Chicago was particularly memorable.  A snowstorm kept all but two of the Note’s nine-man saxophone-and-rhythm contingent on the ground in Washington , DC .  Determined that “the show would go on,” Pete had 214 pages of music faxed to Chicago while he recruited three saxophonists and a rhythm section from among the conference attendees (one was former Note bassist Tom Williams).  With only one rehearsal, the group successfully pulled off the gig before a standing-room-only audience.

The Note with legendary jazz singer Joe Williams

A wide variety of outside jobs continued to fill gaps in the band’s calendar.  The Note was the “guest pro” band at the 1989 Downbeat Musicfest, where they appeared with Bill Watrous and Rich Matteson.  The 1990 New Mexico State Jazz Festival was a bit of a reunion, as the band joined the New Mexico State University Jazz Ensemble led by ex-Note saxophonist Danny Garcia.  Their sax section included another Note veteran, John Dodge.  The Airmen of Note continued to perform at the Detroit-Montreaux jazz festivals, where their concerts were broadcast by National Public Radio.  They also played the Fullerton Jazz Festival with pianist-arranger Bob Florence and alumnus Kim Richmond, the Pensacola Jazz Festival with trumpeter Bobby Shew, and the 1994 Herndon Jazz Festival with Stanley Turrentine.

By the mid-1990s the Note had played virtually all of the major jazz festivals in the United States , many of them a number of times. While these festivals give the band a chance to present their own special brand of jazz, they also give them the opportunity to interact musically with some of the most talented members of the jazz community at large.  These jazz greats have not been hesitant to express their pleasure at having the opportunity to perform with the Airmen of Note, whether in a spontaneous jazz festival setting or in one of the Note’s Jazz Heritage concerts.

The Note gives a public performance in Sweden

The Note with singer Wayne Newton

In 1994, Joe Eckert developed and initiated a call for compositions for the Sammy Nestico Award.  The objective of this annual competition is to encourage young jazz composers writing in the big band idiom.  The award consists of the performance of the winning composition by the Airmen of Note at a major concert, a professionally produced recording of the composition, and a follow-on commission for a second work.  The award, inspired by and named in honor of the former leader of the Note, is awarded upon the adjudication of the finalists by Sammy himself.  The first winner was Charles Bayne from Lawrence University , and his composition was performed at the 1995 International Association of Jazz Educators conference at Los Angeles . 

An historic collaboration took place in 1996 between the Airmen of Note and the Big Band der Bundeswehr, the Note’s German counterpart.  The bands joined forces for a concert and a video shoot for German network television. The Big Band was touring in the U.S. as a part of its 25th anniversary celebration.  Pete BarenBregge was invited to Germany to help plan these activities, and while there he performed with the band.

In September the Airmen of Note augmented the Air Force Band Ceremonial Brass in performing at international military band tattoos in Oslo , Norway and Stockholm , Sweden .  The main emphasis at these well-attended events was on precision marching routines, but interludes featured the Note performing Mike Crotty’s Big Band Tribute and vocals by Bobbie McCleary and Tracey Wright. 

In July of 1997 the band traveled to Pittsburgh for featured performances at the 1997 NAACP Convention, adding musical highlights to the premiere of a historical video presentation honoring African-American recipients of the Medal of Honor.  Vocalist Tracy Wright brought the audience to its feet with her stirring rendition of the African-American anthem Lift Every Voice and Sing.

In October of 1997, the Note’s saxophone and rhythm sections were featured in a compact disk entitled Reeds and Rhythm.  Over the years, the band had accumulated a series of Mike Crotty arrangements that were used in concerts to give the brass players a chance to “rest their chops.”  This repertoire was expanded for a feature performance at the Navy Band’s 1995 Saxophone Symposium held at George Mason University .  Reeds and Rhythm collected ten of these charts, which were based on compositions by jazz greats like Sonny Rollins, Charlie Parker, J.J, Johnson, and Duke Ellington.  The “Reeds and Rhythm” group continues to perform as part of the Air Force Band’s chamber music program as well as the Note’s own Jazz Outreach program.

The Note trombone section. From l to r, Gary Hall, Joe Jackson, Doug Elliott and Dudley Hinote