History of the Airmen of Note

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Ken Grasley or Tom Sullivan, Vince Somma, Scott Waller, Ray Stone or Jim Fuller, or Ron Viera (tp), Bill Tole, Jack Schnupp or Cliff Stark, Jim Buchanan (tb) or Chuck Sayre (tb-arr), Houghton Peterson or Gary Ross  (btb), Don Grossi, John Dodge (as), Tony Osiecki, Jim Towsey (ts), Frank Denton (bs), Dick Reitan or Tom Baldwin (p), Don Dempsey (b), Charlie McIlroy (d), Duff Thomas or Jackie Roberts or Jerry Whitman (vcl), Sammy Nestico (arr)

The Third Herd was a transition orchestra.  Many of the members of the Second Herd completed their enlistments in early 1961.  As the Second Herd evolved into the Third, musicians came into the band who were to be the backbone of the Airmen of Note for the remainder of the 1960s - men like lead alto saxophonist Don Grossi, jazz trumpeter Vince Somma, trumpeter/flugelhorn specialist Scott Waller, tenor saxophonist Jim Towsey, bass trombonist Gary Ross, drummer Charlie McIlroy and pianist Tom Baldwin. 

The Third Herd in 1962

As new men came in, the character of the band started to change, also.  The band had some outstanding jazz soloists during this period in Somma, alto saxophonist John Dodge, tenor saxophonist Tony Osiecki and pianist Dick Reitan, and some fine ballad soloists in Grossi, Waller and lead trombonist Bill Tole.  But much of Johnny’s effort during this period was devoted to developing the polished musicianship and tight ensemble sound that would become the hallmarks of Johnny’s fourth and last Herd.  

Airmen of Note vocalist Jackie Roberts, the first woman in the Air Force music program

Sammy Nestico continued to supply excellent dance and vocal charts.  On the up-tempo numbers, the Basie sound exerted a strong influence, although a variety of other jazz styles could also be found in the book.  One of Kenny Sampson’s last efforts for the Note was an extended suite on Porgy and Bess that was widely used at concerts.  Chuck Sayre came on the band during this period to fill the third trombone chair.  He was an excellent arranger and was soon writing for the band as well.

About this time, Air Force Band Chief Arranger Floyd Werle conceived the idea of augmenting the Airmen of Note with a full string section, horns, and additional woodwinds and percussion.  This 53-piece ensemble, which became known as the Symphony in Blue, made a large number of recordings during the early and middle 1960s for the Serenade in Blue radio series.  They also performed in the Washington , DC area at park concerts and other special events.  Johnny Osiecki usually fronted the orchestra, and arrangements were contributed by Werle, Sammy Nestico, Chuck Sayre, Fred Kepner, staff arranger Ralph Rayner and later Paul Kelly and Kim Richmond.

In 1961, Jackie Roberts joined the Airmen of Note as featured vocalist.  She was the first woman to be assigned full-time to the Air Force musical program.  She was followed in 1963 by Jerry Whitman, another fine vocalist, who went on to sing with the Ray Conniff Singers and become a top jingle singer.

Some of the noteworthy jobs the band did during this period were The Mid-East Instrumental Music Clinic (1961), the Chicagoland Music Festival (1961), a community relations tour of California (1962), and a jazz concert at Case Institute (1962).  The summer of 1961 also saw the first of what would become an annual trek to the Texas Bandmaster’s Association, where the Note would do both clinics and concerts.

Tom Scanlan of Down Beat caught the band in early 1961, and in his review he called the Note “ . . . one of the best bands anyone interested in big band jazz can hope to hear today.”

From time to time the band would get a call from the White House, either to provide dance music or dinner entertainment.  The Airmen of Note has performed for most of the presidents who have been in office over the past 40 years.  John F. Kennedy especially enjoyed the band.

Johnny Osiecki’s Airmen of Note with vocalist Jerry Whitman (on right)

Entertainment for military personnel continued to occupy most of the band’s time.  In the last half of 1963 for example, 71 percent of their time was spent on “troop morale and ceremonial” jobs, 13 percent on public relations, 6 percent on recording, and 10 percent on rehearsals.  

The year 1963 saw a major upgrade in the Air Force Band’s recording capabilities.  Up to this time, the Note shared rehearsal space with the Singing Sergeants in a cramped studio on the second floor of a converted barracks building.  Most of the band’s recordings were made by simply setting up a microphone in the rehearsal room.  As might be expected, the resulting recordings were less than hi-fi. 

The Concert Band’s rehearsal space was a converted base theater.  In 1963 this area was made over into a recording studio, and greatly improved recording equipment was installed.  From this point on, the recordings used on the various Air Force radio programs were of much higher quality, with everything being done in stereo in anticipation of the expected transition to stereo broadcasting by FM radio stations.  By the middle 1960s, all of the Air Force Band units were recording in this facility.

Vince Somma, Tom Sullivan or Paul Hubinon, Scott Waller, Ray Stone (tp), Bill Tole or Dave Steinmeyer(tb), Chuck Sayre (tb-arr) or Jerry Cohen (tb), Cliff Stark or Al DiPasquale (tb), Gary Ross (btb), Don Grossi (as), Kim Richmond (as-arr), Barry Weinstein, Jim Towsey (ts), Dave Napier (bs-arr), Tom Baldwin (p-arr), Dick Jones (b), Charlie McIlroy (d), Jerry Whitman (vcl), Paul Kelly, Chuck Sayre (arr)

Johnny remembers the Fourth Herd as his best ensemble group, the most cooperative, and perhaps the most versatile.  Overall musicianship had also made some gains from the middle 1950s, when it was sometimes a scuffle just to get enough competent musicians to fill out the band.  By 1964, Johnny had collected the cream of the jazz musicians in the Air Force music program, and because the Airmen of Note was developing a reputation outside of the service, they were attracting high quality recruits as well.  

The Fourth Herd in early 1966

1965 Airmen of Note performing with drummer Louis Bellson

Building on the foundation laid by the Third Herd, Johnny added jazz tenor saxophonist Barry Weinstein, jazz alto saxophonist Kim Richmond, high note trumpeter Paul Hubinon, bassist Dick Jones, and two musicians who were to play major roles in the Airmen of Note for many years to come, baritone saxophonist Dave Napier and lead trombonist Dave Steinmeyer.  Vocalist Jerry Whitman left the Note in 1965, and when the opportunity came to pick up jazz guitarist Bobby Mann, Johnny chose to sacrifice the vocal slot for the time being.  

Col. Howard had retired in 1963.  After a short time under the interim direction of Col. Shale Tulin, command of the Air Force Band was assumed by Capt. Arnald Gabriel.  By the mid-sixties, public relations activities were becoming a more important part of the Air Force Band’s mission. 

For example, the Serenade in Blue radio series was increased to a half hour, produced in stereo, and generally upgraded into a top-flight production.  Although other elements of the Air Force Band also participated in this show, the Airmen of Note soon became the featured group.  At its peak, the program was aired on more than 2,000 stations nationwide, which exposed the band to a wide audience.

The program provided a unique opportunity to showcase the skills and versatility of the band, the individual musicians, the vocalists, and the arrangers.  Most numbers featured the full Airmen of Note or the Symphony in Blue, but opportunities were also available for small group jazz performances by members of the Note.  One of these groups was the Air Force Jazz Octet, which was led by Kim Richmond and featured modern jazz arrangements by himself and other Airmen of Note members.  Another was Bobby Mann’s Capitol Quartet.

For those with arranging talent, the show provided an opportunity to have their work performed on the air by first-rate musicians.  Some good examples of this type of musical creativity were Sammy Nestico’s “Swingphonic” arrangements, which were based on classical and traditional folk themes.  The objective was to present these themes in a big band format without losing their original flavor.  On these numbers, the Airmen of Note were augmented by horns, woodwinds and additional percussion.

Serenade in Blue

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The Fourth Herd brass section breaks down as the saxes launch into Guy Lombardo's moving theme song

Sammy transferred to the Marine Band during this period, but other arrangers were added to the staff. Upon Sammy’s departure, Chuck Sayre was transferred full time to arranging, and Paul Kelly of the Air Force Band arranging staff also contributed some excellent charts. In addition, Dave Napier, Tom Baldwin, Kim Richmond and Jim Towsey began contributing charts.

Paul’s forte was swinging arrangements in the Basie groove.  Chuck became the mainstay of the staff, having the capability to deliver whatever the occasion demanded, including pop charts, soft ballads, jazz originals, vocal backings and theme music for the radio shows.  Dave did several pop charts and some pretty arrangements that showed the influence of Henry Mancini’s laid-back jazz sounds. Kim Richmond would go on to contribute some very advanced charts to the band’s library, some of which are still in the book today.  

Besides being featured on the Serenade in Blue program, the Note had its own five-minute weekly radio series, Music in the Air.  The band also made a number of transcriptions for use by Armed Forces Radio Services and was often featured on Willis Conover’s highly popular jazz program on Voice of America.

While recording work increased, troop entertainment continued as well.  In addition, the band also started doing concerts at high schools for Air Force Recruiting, and for a time college ROTC balls were an important part of the schedule.  Johnny was also able to fit in an occasional jazz concert or clinic.  At the 1965 Air Force Association convention in Dallas, the Airmen of Note were called on to do a tribute to Glenn Miller on the 20th anniversary of his disappearance over the English Channel.  Mrs. Glenn Miller was a special guest, and Jack Jones was the featured vocalist as the band recreated many of the Miller hits.

As a follow-up, the Note recorded fifteen Glenn Miller classics using the original charts, which were graciously loaned by the Miller estate.  The current Glenn Miller Orchestra vocalist Joan Shepard joined the band on two numbers.  The original plan was to produce an album that could be sold at base exchanges. While this didn’t work out, the recordings were used on some special Serenade in Blue programs.

Another collaboration with Jack Jones was the 1965 Air Force Christmas radio special, which also featured the Randy Van Horn Singers.  Two other 1965 highlights were Lyndon Johnson’s inaugural ball at the Mayflower Hotel and a military ball held at the legendary Glen Island Casino.

The band also played the White House for President Johnson.  On one occasion they were sharing the bill with the Tijuana Brass.  The Note’s job was to follow the Brass with four hours of dance music.  Johnny brought along a combo to spell the band, but the White House staffer in charge wanted to hear the Airmen of Note.  So the combo was told to pack up and go home, and the Note had to play the full four hours straight through, which was pretty tough on the chops.

Over the years, the Airmen of Note had occasion to share the bandstand with a number of well-known bands, including Claude Thornhill, Stan Kenton, Woody Herman and the Glenn Miller Orchestra under the direction of Ray McKinley.  In 1966, the Note at last had the opportunity to swap dance sets with the great Count Basie orchestra at Bolling Hangar No. 1.

Johnny retired from the Air Force in the fall of 1966.  Over the eleven years he led the band, he worked hard to secure a performance schedule that properly utilized the considerable talents of the Airmen of Note.  Another of his priorities was to obtain the type of transportation, accommodations, and other amenities that musicians of this caliber could expect to receive on the outside.

He was able to accomplish much of this while he was still on the band.  However, some of the things he worked hardest to achieve didn’t come to pass until he was ready to leave.  One was that the Note finally got a regular touring bus.  This was a small item perhaps, but it added considerably to the comfort of a band spending a lot of time on the road.  And certainly to his credit was the outstanding group of musicians left to his successor.

Perhaps Johnny’s crowning achievement was the concert tour in the fall of 1966, when the band did a series of twelve public performances in Pennsylvania, Ohio and New Jersey.  By the time the band was ready to hit the road, Bob Bunton had assumed leadership.  However, as a tribute to a man who had done so much for the Airmen of Note, Johnny was asked to conduct the first half of the concert at his home town, Erie, Pennsylvania.  As the band broke for intermission, he turned the baton over to Bob and joined the audience, thus ending the military career of the Note’s longest-serving leader.  This tour was so successful that it evolved into a regular series of semi-annual concert tours that has brought the Airmen of Note and the Air Force to audiences all over the country.