©1975 (unreleased) ROSEMARY CLOONEY, with The Airmen of Note (directed by Dave Napier).
On September 28, 2010 , the Airmen of Note will celebrate 60 years of service to the Air Force and to the music-loving public. Over the past half-century the Note has made literally thousands of appearances all over the world. They served the Air Force, performing for everyone from airmen stationed at remote airfields to the Commander-in-Chief at the White House. The public has also had many opportunities to hear one of the worlds finest big bands, in concert, on the radio and on television.
Surprisingly, very little has been written about the Airmen of Note over the years. There are several reasons for this. In the early part of the bands existence, it operated almost entirely within the military sphere. At that time, the few civilian big band enthusiasts who knew of its existence referred to the Airmen of Note as one of the Air Forces best kept military secrets. Even since the band began appearing more frequently in public, the unavailability of commercial recordings has made it difficult for big band fans to sustain an interest in the band. After fifty years of faithfully serving up outstanding music, it is time that some of the facts about the Airmen of Notes long and distinguished history are made known.
One of the unique characteristics of the Airmen of Note is that the character of the band has been influenced as much by the musicians and arrangers as by the leaders. This is due in part to the high caliber of the men and women that have served on the band over the years, and in part to the continuity of personnel. So even though the different periods of the bands history are identified by the names of the leaders, the history of the Airmen of Note during each of these periods is really a history of all of the men and women who have served on the band.
By the time that Capt. Egge retired, it was apparent that the Airmen of Note had established considerable momentum. The personnel were all skilled professionals, most of whom had been playing together for a long time. The band had a great book, which was constantly being updated with fresh, new material. And the performance schedule of military protocol jobs, concert tours, recording dates for the Serenade in Blue, summer park concerts, and occasional special appearances at jazz festivals and music conferences was well established.
The Dave Napier Band (1974-1976)
Dave Napier joined the Airmen of Note in 1964 following a series of field band assignments, the last being with the NORAD Band in Colorado Springs. Like his predecessors, he felt that the overall approach the Note was taking to big band music was generally sound. He did, however, stress ensemble work a bit more than previous leaders.
Here is a recording of The Airmen Of Note ,probably from 1975, with ROSEMARY CLOONEY.
We hope you will enjoy it as much as we do!
Kenny Smukal, Jimmy Lay, Dick Perry, Larry Trautman (tp), Dave Steinmeyer, Lee Robertson, Mike Smukal or Gary Hall (tb), Paul Rawlins (btb-arr), Ernie Hensley, Gene Gaydos (as), John Dodge (ts), Roger Hogan (ts-arr), Dave Napier (bs), Gil Cray (p-arr), Brent McKesson or Ephraim Woolfolk (b), Rick Whitehead (g), Dave Palamar (d), Nelson Riddle (arr.)
NOTE : Copyright Recording. All rights of the Manufacturer and of the Owner of the recorded work are reserved. Unauthorised copying of this recording is prohibited.
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I knew Rosie a little bit. She was introduced to me by my friend Joanie Sommers at the Vine Street Bar & Grille across from the Huntington Hartford Theater in LA around 1986. She has always been my favorite girl singer--the best--you could have asked Bing Crosby and he would have agreed with you. Barry Nulph, Phoenix, AZ
BarryNulph 8 months ago