History of the Airmen of Note

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Bill Hodges, John Bova, Larry Tain or Andy Peele, Kenny Eshelman (tp) or Roger Middleton (tp-arr); John Shuman, Tommy Vasileros or Ray Winslow, Leo Keller, Francis Pahl or Greg Phillips (tb); Clare Van Norman (fr-hn), Lowell Smith (as) or Walt Levinsky (as-arr), Jimmy Craig, (as), Bill Duffy (ts) or Tommy Newsom (ts-arr), Bill Cervantes or Charlie Almeida (ts), Bruce Snyder (bs-vcl), Fred Kepner (p-arr) or Jimmy Odrich (p), George Roumanis (b-arr) or Howard Terrell (b), Gene Miller or Gene Estes (d), Jim Daugherty or Bob Ware or Larry Grayson or Tommy Zang (vcl), Sammy Nestico (arr)

The man Col. Howard charged with putting together the newly authorized Air Force Dance Band was Chief Warrant Officer Fred Kepner.  Fred had originally come to Bolling in 1945 as a staff arranger for Col. Howard’s AAF Headquarters.  After the war he left the service, but in 1947 Col. Howard asked him to return as chief arranger of the Air Force Band.  He was still serving in that capacity in the summer of 1950 when he was asked to organize what would soon be known as the Airmen of Note.

Fred Kepner and the original Airmen of Note in 1951

Tommy Dorsey and ex-Dorseyites Bruce Snyder, Walt Levinsky and Greg Phillips

Although in civilian life Fred had worked with a number of territory bands and had also led some smaller dance combos, this was to be his first experience leading a big band.  Fred’s particular forte was arranging/composing, but Col. Howard felt he also had the leadership capabilities needed to organize the dance band and get it moving.

The first step was to find musicians who were capable of making the unit a first-rate dance band.  Here Fred was in luck.  The Korean War draft had just gotten underway, so many excellent young musicians were more than eager to volunteer for this kind of service.  Fred auditioned over 200 potential candidates, many of whom were experienced dance band musicians.  Thus, he was able to staff the Airmen of Note with men from big-name bands like Tommy Dorsey, Hal McIntyre, Xavier Cugat, Johnny Long, Claude Thornhill, Ralph Flanagan, Billy Butterfield, Baron Elliott, Shep Fields, Raymond Scott, Noro Morales and Sonny Dunham.

Although there were a few transfers from other Air Force units and even some World War II vets, most were new recruits and had to undergo basic training before joining the band.  So the fall of 1950 was mostly spent auditioning, getting the men through basic, and starting section rehearsals as quickly as they could be assembled.

Lowell Smith led the sax section, John Shuman the trombones, and Billy Hodges the trumpet section, although Larry Tain and John Bova shared some of the trumpet lead.  In the solo department, Bill Duffy did most of the jazz tenor saxophone work.  Bill Cervantes was occasionally featured on jazz also, but more often he was called on to do the ballads and flute solos.  Hodges played most of the jazz trumpet parts and Tommy Vasileros the trombone jazz.  

In the brass section, John Bova, John Shuman and Clare Van Norman were usually the featured soloists on ballads.  Pianist Jimmy Odrich and drummer Gene Estes were also excellent soloists.  Bruce Snyder was featured both on baritone sax and “scat” vocals, and he would front the band in Fred’s absence.  The remaining band members were not featured as often as soloists, but they were all excellent section men, without whom the band’s smooth ensemble work would not have been possible. There was some turnover in the first four years, two of the key replacements being Walt Levinsky on lead alto saxophone and Tommy Newsom on jazz tenor saxophone.

By January of 1951, the band was ready to go.  Their first job was an informal dance at the Coral Hills Club for a retiring WAF officer, but the band’s official debut was a stage show at the Bolling AFB base theater on January 24.  Also on that program was a young accordion soloist named Johnny Osiecki.

The original band featured a  French horn, played by Clare Van Norman, who is shown here with George Roumanis, Bruce Snyder and Bill Duffy

Airmen of Note departing for North Atlantic airbase tour

A full dance schedule soon developed at area service clubs, and on March 12, the Air Force Dance Band was presented to the public for the first time in concert at George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium. The next day the band departed via C-47 for a tour of bases of the Training Command in Texas. The high point of that tour was the world premiere of the movie Air Cadet, at which the band appeared on the stage of the Majestic Theater in San Antonio along with the stars of the film. A week after returning, they were in the studios making recordings for the Reserved for You radio series. Within two months of the band’s debut, the pattern had been established that would characterize life for the Airmen of Note for the next fifteen or so years: service club dances and high level functions in the DC area, special dances and stage shows at Air Force Bases all around the country, recording sessions for Air Force radio programs, and occasional public performances.

After the band had been working for some months, Fred decided that the Air Force Dance Band needed a distinctive nickname.  A number of suggestions were considered, including the Airtones, Martialaires, Squadronaires, Skyliners and Skymasters.  Fred himself hit upon the Airmen of Note, and that name stuck.

Although many of the band’s jobs were fairly routine, some really stood out.  In August of 1951 the band spent two weeks entertaining troops and dependents at the remote bases of the Northeast Air Command - Greenland, Newfoundland and Labrador. This was before the days of television and videotapes, and these people hadn’t seen any live entertainers for months. The response was overwhelming!

Airmen of Note & Jimmy Stewart simulating a dance job at the Glen Island Casino during the filming of “The Glenn Miller Story”

Airmen of Note with Jimmy Stewart and Frances Langford recreating a hangar concert in England during the filming of the Glenn Miller Story (photo courtesy of Denver Post)

In both 1952 and 1953 the band did dance/stage show tours of North Carolina for the Tactical Air Command to raise money for Christmas presents for orphans.

Another highlight of the early years was the opportunity to appear regularly on network television.  All of the major networks broadcast public service programs, and the Airmen of Note made regular trips to New York to appear on shows such as We the People and Guide Right. This gave the band the opportunity to work with stars such as Eddie Fisher, Eydie Gorme, Helen O’Connell, Bob Eberly, Tony Bennett, Mel Torme, Ray Anthony and Vic Damone.  These were the days of live television - no chance to go back and dub over “clams.” 

These were also the days of the big band radio remotes, and the Note occasionally had the chance to do these.  In April of 1953, ABC broadcast a dance at the Mitchell AFB Airmen’s Club, which led to a very complimentary review by Bill Coss in Metronome, one of the leading entertainment magazines of that period.  The Note had made the big time!

The band’s “bread and butter” was dance music, but they put on stage shows too.  Even at dances they would give the dancers a break and put on a little show to spotlight the band.  These shows might include novelty items like Meet the Band and Themes of the Big Bands, jazz numbers like Airbase Blues, production numbers like Sammy Nestico’s Portrait of New York, and foot-stompers by the Dixieland Seven.  Sometimes when out on tour they would also bring along other entertainers - singers like Donna Mason, comedians like Ronnie Schell, dancers, and instrumental soloists.

Recording work was another interesting aspect of the Airmen of Note’s schedule.  During the 1950s and for some years thereafter, commercial radio stations provided airtime for public service programs.  The Air Force’s Command Services Unit, which was also stationed at Bolling, produced several weekly radio series - some of which were for recruiting purposes, and others for keeping the public informed on what was going on in the Air Force.  These were not live programs, but were put together using prerecorded music and announcements.  Whenever their schedule permitted, the Note would make another batch of recordings so that Command Services would have an up-to-date supply of music from which to choose.

Fred Kepner with arrangers Sammy Nestico and George Roumanis

Although it was expected that the Air Force Dance Band would sometimes emulate the sounds that were associated with Major Glenn Miller, Fred had no intention of the Note being another Miller clone orchestra.  He was a great fan of Claude Thornhill’s music, which is evident in the beautiful ballad style that Fred created for the Airmen of Note.  It blended the Miller reed sound with the use of a French horn a la Thornhill, either as a solo voice or as a part of a choir voicing with trombones and vibrato-less reeds.  Fred was also a pioneer in the use of the flute as a color instrument in big band arrangements.  

Arranger Sammy Nestico introduced elements of the Tommy Dorsey sound to the Note’s book.  The band’s jazz charts were influenced by the Les Brown Orchestra, which was probably the most popular dance band in the country at that time.  Another band that was attracting a lot of attention at that time was the Sauter-Finegan orchestra, whose rich tapestry of sounds was achieved through sidemen doubling on instruments not usually heard in dance bands.  Sammy wrote a series of charts in this vein, such as The Belgian Parachutists and The Blue and the Gray.  They were very popular in concerts and stage shows.

When the band first hit the road, CWO Kepner wore many hats: leader, chief arranger, pianist, and road manager.  By the time summer came along, Sammy Nestico had assumed the duties of chief arranger, and Jimmy Odrich had taken over on piano.  But Fred still had the burden of scheduling the band’s jobs and handling all of the road details, such as transportation, accommodations and set-ups.  In late 1952 Bob Dunn, a Warrant Officer and bandleader from Pope AFB, had the opportunity to see the band in action.  He suggested that the band needed a full-time road manager and that he was the man to do the job.  In early 1953, WO Dunn was transferred to the Airmen of Note.  He capably held down the job of tour director and road manager for the next fourteen years, serving also as officer-in-charge for much of this time.

In the fall of 1954, with the band well established, Kepner was transferred to a staff position in the Air Force Band, but not before recommending that Sammy Nestico take his place as leader of the Airmen of Note.