History of the Airmen of Note

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Kenny Smukal, Jimmy Lay, Scott Waller, Steve Wright or Tim Bowen (tp), Dave Steinmeyer (tb), Jerry Johnson (tb-arr), Gary Ross or Dave Boyle, Tom Streeter (btb), Ernie Hensley, Danny Garcia or Tim Eyermann (as), Gary Scott (ts), Jim Towsey or Roger Hogan (ts-arr), Dave Napier (bs-arr), Dick Reitan (p), Brent McKesson (b), Rick Whitehead (g), Gary Gauger or Jim Nolan (d), Chris Dedrick (arr)

The early 1970s saw some new faces on the band, and it was becoming apparent the composition of the Note was beginning to change.  Some four-year enlistees continued to pass through the band, but an increasing percentage of members were career musicians, who found in the Airmen of Note one of the few remaining opportunities to earn a livelihood playing the type of music that they loved.  Eight of the musicians on the band at the end of 1970 were destined to spend at least ten years with the Airmen of Note.

Scott Waller taking a solo on the spring 1970 tour

Chris Dedrick continued to write for the Note, along with staff arranger John Caughman and the new second tenor saxophonist, Roger Hogan, who was to become one of the mainstays of the arranging staff during the 1970s.  Dave Napier, Jerry Johnson, and Steve Wright also contributed charts, and Bunton brought in charts by well-known jazz arrangers such as Paul Kondziela, Phil Wilson, Bob Florence, Billy Byers and Thad Jones.

Some of the latter arrangements appeared in Bob’s last album with the Note, Rock Jazz, along with a selection of current pop hits and rock-flavored originals.  This album, recorded in 1970, demonstrated how the band could perform two dramatically different styles of music with equal professionalism and understanding.

The band didn’t make it back to California during this period, but Walt Skees, Della Reese, and The Arbors visited Washington to record for Serenade in Blue.  By this time, the Note was also committing a fair number of jazz numbers to tape for the program.  Besides the usual spring and fall tours, the band traveled to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan for the Kinsman Band Festival, the Mid-East Music Educator’s Conference at Pittsburgh, and to the Memphis State and Atlantic City Jazz Festivals.

One of the high points of Bob’s tour as leader was the Music of Black America concert at Constitution Hall on March 7, 1971.  Performing with the Note were jazz artists Clark Terry and Donald Byrd, singer Marian Love, and the Howard University Choir.  General “Chappie” James paid an emotional tribute to Bob and the band for undertaking this performance.

Guitarist Rick Whitehead speaking with potential recruits

The personnel Bob had inherited from Johnny Osiecki were outstanding, and this gave the band a strong foundation. There was some turnover, but he was able to fill the vacancies with people that were at least as good as those that he had lost. The concert tours and the Serenade in Blue program had brought the band to the attention of young musicians. Another big factor contributing to the improved quality of the band was the Vietnam conflict, which created a lot of interest in the Air Force music program among draft-age musicians. Many talented musicians became available to the Note as a result. But even after the Vietnam War draft had ceased to be a factor, the band’s reputation had been established, and there were no problems finding the kind of musicians the band needed.

During this period Don Grossi continued to lead the sax section, and Dave Steinmeyer had become a fixture on lead trombone. Section leader Vince Somma, Paul Hubinon, and Dick Montz split the trumpet lead. Besides the carryover soloists from Osiecki’s Fourth Herd, Bob could also call on newcomers Ernie Hensley (originally on tenor saxophone and later on alto), trombonist Bill Booth, pianist Smith Dobson, drummer Gary Gauger, and bassist Terry Plumeri or Brent McKesson, as well as tenor saxophonist Gary Scott, who returned to the Note in 1968 after ten years on the Air Force Academy Band. Bob was also an accomplished trumpet player and occasionally took a solo himself.