History of the Airmen of Note

 

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The Dudley Hinote - Joe Jackson Band (2004-present)

Brian MacDonald, Kevin Burns, Rich Sigler, Tim Leahey (tp), Joe Jackson, Jeff Martin, Ben Patterson (tb), Dudley Hinote (btb), Lucas Munce, Andy Axelrad (as), Tedd Baker, Dave Stump or Saul Miller (ts), Doug Morgan (bs), Steve Erickson (p), Paul Henry (b), Geoff Reecer (g), Paige Wroble (vcl), Alan Baylock (arr)  

Following the departures of Claud Askew and Joe Eckert in the summer of 2004, Dudley Hinote was selected as the new manager, replacing Claude, and Joe Jackson the new director, succeeding Joe Eckert.  Both were well-prepared for their new positions as a result of a variety of experiences inside and outside the Air Force Band.  

Dudley Hinote had worked in several different administrative positions within the band almost since his hire in the late 1980's - first as Public Affairs man, then as Tour Manager and finally as Chief of Operations for the "Note".  Prior to being selected as the new enlisted leader of the Airmen of Note by the USAF Band Commander, Colonel Dennis M. Layendecker, Dudley had most recently been managing the Air Force Band's Presidential Security Clearance process.  

In fact, Dudley was looked upon so highly by senior band leadership, the "Note" was truly fortunate indeed that he was not offered a senior enlisted position in the squadron, thus pulling him out of the "Note" altogether.

While Joe Jackson had also served in the Public Affairs position during the critical late 1990s/early 2000s period, he was also busy honing his skills as an arranger, and he led bands outside of the Air Force, including a horn band that was contracted to play at Washington Bullets NBA games for a few years.  All of these experiences made him the right man to assume musical leadership of the Note, and he did so in August 2004.

Another key leader during this period is longtime Airmen of Note bassist Paul Henry, who, having been promoted to Senior Master Sergeant with Joe Jackson during summer 2004, assumed the role of Chief of Operations and Assistant Manager.  Together, these three members formed the core of the new leadership who would pave the way for the Airmen of Note into the 21st century.

Airmen of Note Bassist Paul Henry

Upon taking leadership, the new team quickly settled into a working style best characterized by trust, and by being of a like mind not just with each other, but with band commander Colonel Dennis Layendecker, and one of these issues they all felt strongly about was pushing the broadcast mission of the Airmen of Note.  While reflecting on the intense publicity generated by the late 1960s "Serenade In Blue" radio shows during the 50th anniversary celebration, the band in the early 2000s knew the power of broadcasting, and were anxious to generate new broadcasting opportunities.

 

The Airmen of Note at XM Radio Studios in December 2004

 With the support of Colonel Layendecker, and the blessing of Air Force leadership, the Airmen of Note initiated a series of radio broadcasts, beginning with an XM Satellite Radio broadcast on New Year's Eve, December 31, 2004 in Washington, DC.  Other broadcast mediums, including Voice of America and Armed Forces Radio, broadcasted radio shows recorded live and on live soundstages.  Dudley Hinote worked with leadership to cultivate opportunities, Paul Henry would coordinate logistics to the broadcast sites, and Joe Jackson and Rich Sigler, the assistant director would write scripts, program the shows, and even write the music for the shows.  A new emphasis on recording the band's live performances took on new prominence, and Joe Jackson even went so far to conduct studio interviews of the Jazz Heritage Series guest artists to be included in broadcasts and for possible release on future recordings.

2004 also represented a sea change in the band's Jazz Heritage Series.  For many years, members of the Airmen of Note performed all of the production, guest artist and venue booking, protocol and publicity surrounding the series.  In 2003, this changed when Shani Prewitt was placed in charge of guest artist relations for the Jazz Heritage Series.  By putting Sgt. Prewitt in charge of booking guest artists full time, it freed the members of the band to focus on publicity and musical preparation, while Sgt. Prewitt could focus all her energy on booking  high-quality guests, including trumpeter Nicholas Payton, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Duffy Jackson.  Beginning in 2006, this job was shared by Sgts. Jennifer Pagnard and Gil Corella.

During the first year of the Hinote-Jackson band, the "Note" traveled to Florida (teaming up on several concerts with drumming legend Duffy Jackson) and toured Washington and Oregon.  They flew to play the Montgomery, Alabama annual holiday/Glenn Miller concert (which was recorded and subsequently broadcast as a "holiday card to the troops" on Armed Forces Radio), and traveled to Anaheim, California to perform at the International Association for Jazz Education Convention with the great drummer and longtime friend of the band, Peter Erskine.

Saxophonist Tedd Baker, at a troop support performance at Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina

Meanwhile, troop morale continued to be the priority mission for the Airmen of Note.  The United States was at war in Afghanistan and in the Middle East, and the "Note" found itself increasingly stretched to provide high-level entertainment for troops, while maintaining the high artistic standards that the band needed to succeed in recording, broadcasting and in its public concert schedule.  Under the leadership of Joe Jackson, the Airmen of Note undertook a substantial upgrade of the dance book, and took on rehearsing dance material with the same work ethic it had when preparing for public jazz concerts.

Joining the Airmen of Note as Joe Eckert's replacement in the lead alto chair was the lead altoist from the USAF Band of the Rockies'  "Falconnaires" ensemble, Lucas Munce from Manhattan, Kansas.
The Jazz Outreach program also continued in high gear, with a publicity campaign designed to bring the program to the attention of educators in the National Capital Region.  The response was immediate and the requests came in batches.  The Jazz Outreach clinics gave the band the opportunity to pass out the newly-released "¡Tiempo Latino! - A Celebration of Latin Jazz" CD, produced by Joe Eckert just prior to his and Askew's departure in the spring of 2004.  By early 2005, the CD had been distributed to radio stations across the country, and was hailed as some of the "freshest and most original music found in big band circles today".

The Airmen of Note's "¡Tiempo Latino! - A Celebration of Latin Jazz" CD
Finding a drummer to replace a player of Claude Askew's ability proved to be a two-year process.  Fortunately the "Note" was very lucky to have the drummer of the USAF Band "Diplomats" combo, Dennis Hoffmann, made available to them in the interim.  A brilliant and hard-swinging drummer, Dennis was the band's drummer for over a year following Claude Askew's departure, and was a featured soloist on two CDs: 2005's "A Holiday Note From Home" and 2006's "Keep 'Em Flying: A Tribute to the Music of Glenn Miller".  

Other concerts with high-profile guest artists during 2005 included clarinetist Eddie Daniels, vocalist Tierney Sutton, guitarist Pat Martino and singer Ben Vereen. Performances in 2005 included a tours through the Northwest US and New England, a performance at the International Association for Jazz Education Convention in Long Beach, CA with percussionist Peter Erskine, a trip to Montgomery, AL to perform for the City of Montgomery's annual holiday/Glenn Miller concert, and a performance at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago with tenor saxophonist Bob Mintzer.

The Airmen of Note's "A Holiday Note From Home" CD

 In June 2005 the Airmen of Note recorded a CD of holiday music at Bias Studios in Springfield, VA.  The recording featured all-new arrangements by arrangers Alan Baylock, Bob Thurston and John Bliss, band members Joe Jackson, Rich Sigler, Steve Erickson, Jeff Martin and Ben Patterson, as well as a chart by USAF Ceremonial Brass trombonist (and often Airmen of Note sub) Ryan Haines.  The recording was released in fall 2005, and received substantial play on a number of radio stations across the US.  Additionally, over 3,500 copies of the CDs were shipped to Family Support Centers on Air Force Bases across the world - truly a "note from home".
March 2006 presented the Airmen of Note yet another opportunity to meet up with and perform with the very man who had done so much to preserve the existence of the "Note" in the early 1990s, legendary trumpeter and bandleader Doc Severinsen.  The concert, in Johnson City, Tennessee, was a great chance for the members of the band to "catch up" with Doc, and the "Note" trumpet section even ventured to the front of the stage to "trade fours" with the master himself.  Also sitting in with the "Note" that day was virtuoso trumpet man Vinnie DiMartino, and one of Doc's longtime trumpet players, Tony Scodwell.

The Airmen of Note with trumpeter/bandleader Doc Severinsen
In late 2005, the "Note" hired a young civilian from Decatur, Illinois named Dave McDonald to take over the drum seat.  Following the obligatory stay at Air Force Basic Training, McDonald arrived to the band in April 2006 and immediately established himself as an explosive, driving force for the band during the band's Spring Tour to Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi.  

"Keep 'Em Flying: A Salute To The Music Of Major Glenn Miller"

 

"Out In Front"

 

Late 2006 saw the release of a pair of unique recordings, Keep 'Em Flying: A Salute To The Music Of Major Glenn Miller and Out In Front.  

The "Note" had previously released one other recording featuring the music of Glenn Miller, The Glenn Miller Tradition, in 1982 and re-released with additional cuts in 1994.  Keep 'Em Flying would prove to be an entirely different project, digging deeply into music originating entirely from the Miller Army Air Force Dance Band repertoire.  A few of the tunes recorded were arrangements already in the Airmen of Note library; however for this project, eight new transcriptions from the original recordings were written exclusively for the recording.  In preparation for the recording sessions, the band "went to school" with the old recordings, and painstakingly recreated the original articulations and sounds these classics were meant to be played with.

Out in Front represented a departure in the traditional manner "Note" recordings were produced.  Joe Jackson, looking to "shake things up," asked arranger Alan Baylock to write and produce this unique recording.  For years the tagline in the "Note's" public relations blurb is that each musician in the band was a soloist in their own right.  Bringing this cliché to life, Out In Front was a collection of 13 original Alan Baylock charts, each featuring a different soloist in the band (for reasons of time limitations, two of the tunes featured two band members apiece).

Both projects were made possible only by the editing skills of assistant producer and trumpeter Rich Sigler, whose increasing acumen with the Pro Tools system was streamlining the recording process and cutting production costs dramatically.

 

During the 1996 Jazz Heritage Series, a longtime goal was finally reached: national broadcast of the Series.  Each live Series performance at George Washington University Lisner Auditorium would be preceeded by a live recorded performance in The USAF Band building on Bolling AFB.  For the inaugural year of this new format, the three JHS artists, Slide Hampton, Junior Mance and Phil Woods would be asked to stay in DC an extra day for the recording.

The broadcasts, fully scripted, programmed and directed by Joe Jackson, were narrated by DC-area radio personality John Tegler and consisted of music, interview segments with Tegler, Jackson and the guest artist, and a few minute-long air force messages.  The recorded product was then edited by Rich Sigler, and then mixed by Sigler and Joe Jackson.  Also helping out with the licensing, assembly and distribution of the finished product was Dave Nokes, The USAF Band's Chief of Broadcasting.

 

Leading off the 1996 Series was trombonist extraordinaire Slide Hampton.  Hampton had been unsuccessfully courted for the Series over the years, however the enticing prospect of nationwide exposure from the broadcast finally convinced him.  Following him was pianist Junior Mance and finally alto saxophone legend Phil Woods.

As always, Alan Baylock wrote new charts designed to highlight the talents of each guest, and as always the band rose to the occasion.  The resulting recorded product represented some of the best music to emerge from the "Note" in years, and in April 2007 - Jazz Appreciation month - the product was aired extensively on National Public Radio and independent jazz radio stations nationwide to glowing reviews.

Slide Hampton With the Airmen of Note Trombone Section

 

In 2007, the Airmen of Note family lost two beloved members, saxophonists Tommy Newsom and Tim Eyermann.  They both had played dynamic roles at different points in the band's history, and they left behind many colleagues, friends and family members who loved them.

Airmen of Note guitarist Shawn Purcell

 As the Airmen of Note embarks on the second half-century of its existence, it is established as one of the foremost full-time big bands in the world.  It possesses an enviable library of arrangements spanning the full range of the musical spectrum, from the sounds of the “Swing Era” to contemporary charts that explore the frontiers of big band jazz.  And the men and women on the band are talented and experienced musicians, welded into a tight yet swinging jazz ensemble. 

The band’s mission continues to be to serve the Air Force, but the scope of that service has expanded considerably since those early days. 

Bringing musical entertainment to Air Force personnel around the world is still a priority, but over the course of the band’s history, Air Force leadership has chosen to utilize the Note increasingly as a community relations tool, enhancing the reputation of the Air Force through high quality public music performances. 

Through these performances, the Airmen of Note is making an important contribution to the continued vitality of jazz, America ’s only original musical art form.  Over a half century of musical excellence has laid a firm foundation for many more years of performing in the best traditions of big band jazz.  And the Airmen of Note is ready, willing, and able to carry this nation’s very special brand of music into the 21st century.

In closing it would be most fitting to quote Paul Anthony’s recollection of a tribute paid to the Note by a former commander of the Air Force’s 11th Wing, General Steven Roser, under whose command the Airmen Note had resided: 

“Every day, all over the world, the Air Force, in its many guises, performs complicated and sometimes heroic tasks in the pursuit of precision and excellence. And whether these occur in the air, on the ground, on the flight lines or in countless other ways, very few of us see, let alone appreciate, the magnitude of these endeavors. But when we see on the stage, hear on radio or watch on television the premier jazz ensemble of the United States Air Force, The Airmen of Note, they become the visual embodiment, the public’s link if you will, to all others in service to their country that care as much as they do about excellence and its attainment.”

 

The original 1951 Kepner band