USAF Band takes jazz sound to the airwaves

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Susan Moreno
  • 11th Wing Public Affairs
BOLLING AFB, D.C. --  Since 1990, the U.S. Air Force Band's Jazz Heritage Series has entertained audiences in the National Capital Region, but it wasn't until 2007 that radio listeners across the U.S. and Canada could enjoy performances that before could only be heard live in Washington, D.C. Jazz enthusiasts all over the country look forward to The U.S. Air Force Band's annual Jazz Heritage Series, heralding it as a "who's who" in the jazz music industry.

The Airmen of Note is the Air Force's premier jazz ensemble, and was created in 1950 in the tradition of Major Glen Miller's Army Air Corps dance band.

"Air Force leadership in the late '40s and early '50s took notice of what Glen Miller was able to accomplish for the troops when he went over to Europe," Airmen of Note Director Senior Master Sgt. Joe Jackson said in a radio interview with Dick Golden and Kurt Elling, guest artist. "The Airmen of Note was started to continue that tradition, so we just try to pay tribute to him in every single concert we do."

One of the few professional touring big bands today, The Airmen of Note has an extensive record of both national and international performances. "The Note" tours the U.S. from coast to coast semi-annually, spreading its big band sound to communities all throughout the U.S., plus performing in five countries in South America, eight countries in Europe and Japan.

"All musicians have to think of themselves as missionaries," said Sergeant Jackson. "In the U.S. Air Force Band, we pride ourselves on building international diplomatic bridges with other cultures. When the music has that kind of emotional content to it, I think it makes a big impact."

The Jazz Heritage Series features prominent icons of the jazz music industry performing alongside the U.S. Air Force Band and "The Note." This year, The Band and The Airmen of Note are sharing the airwaves with guest artists such as Kurt Elling, Allen Vizzutti, and Rufus Reid.

Kurt Elling, considered one of the preeminent young male jazz singers today, has received seven Grammy nods, six consecutive years at the top of the Down Beat Critics and Jazz Times Readers' polls and three Jazz Journalists Association Awards for Best Male Vocalist. His quartet has performed for audiences at jazz festivals and concert halls across the continent as well as Europe, the Middle East, South America, Asia and Australia. His vocal styles are featured in Program One of the 2009 Jazz Heritage Series.

Allen Vizzutti has shared his talents with audiences across all 50 states and 40 countries including Japan, Germany and Canada and is featured in Program Two of the 2009 Jazz Heritage Series. He is the son of self-taught musician and trumpet player, Lido Vizzutti. He studied at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., where he earned the bachelor of music and master of music degrees and received the only Artist's Diploma ever awarded to a wind player in Eastman's 85-year history. Mr. Vizzutti has also taught at his alma mater, as well as the Banff Centre for the Performing Arts in Canada and the Trompeten Akademie of Bremen, Germany.

Rufus Reid, whose jazz bass stylings are featured in Program Three of the 2009 Jazz Heritage Series, began his musical career with the Air Force Band as a trumpet player. He decided to pursue a career as a professional jazz bassist once he completed his service to the Air Force. He has traveled, performed and recorded with jazz greats such as Gene Ammons, Thad Jones, Nancy Wilson, Eddie Harris and Dizzy Gillespie. His resume includes a 20-year stint as full professor and director of the jazz studies and performance program at the William Paterson University in Wayne, N.J., from 1979 to 1999.

Most recently, the Band performed with legendary jazz pianist Keiko Matsui at Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., in its Guest Artist Series March 22. Dubbed the "first lady of contemporary jazz," Ms. Matsui was named Billboard's Jazz Artist of the Year in 1996, and she received the Essence Award from the Young Society of Musicians in 1997. Her career spans three decades in which she has released 20 CDs.

The Jazz Heritage Series gives jazz enthusiasts and music lovers in general the opportunity to experience the creative innovation, precision and heritage of the Air Force through one of the few home-grown American art forms--jazz music.

To listen to these programs, log on to the U.S. Air Force Band website at www.usafband.mil/jhsbroadcasts.