Published: October 09, 2008 12:19 pm            

All that Jazz

Airmen of Note to perform free concert in San Marcos

San Marcos — Keith Winking says there’s no doubt about it: Airmen of Note is one of the best jazz bands in the world.

The famed jazz ensemble of the United States Air Force was one of the major reasons the Texas State University jazz professor picked up a trumpet in the first place. So, needless to say, his students will be required to attend when the band visits San Marcos next month.

But Winking isn’t alone.

Count Basie once said: “It doesn’t matter what kind of bag you put them in, jazz or dance, the Airmen of Note always come out swinging. This is one band you don’t want to miss.”

The Airmen of Note will perform a free concert at 7 p.m. Nov. 14 at the San Marcos High Auditorium. The stop is one of the few in Texas for the Washington D.C. ensemble, and residents can expect big band sounds from all different eras.

Winking first heard Airmen of Note as a student in McComb Ill. at a free concert on campus.

“This band is really top notch. I’d really put them as one of the top jazz groups that exists today,” Winking said. “It was a big moment in my life the first time I heard them. Listening to them live, I told myself ‘I really want to do something like this with my life.’”

The jazz band is a very selective group. Once you’ve made it through the rigorous audition, it's a job for life, Winking says.

The Airmen of Note is also one of the few constant-traveling big bands still standing. Thirty years ago, Winking explains, groups like the Count Basie Band were traveling around the country all the time, but now these groups get together only sporadically

“The Airmen is one of the few bands that this is all they do: big band, jazz swing,” Winking said.

While the current group plays for both young and old, the Glenn Miller sound has remained a strong ingredient in the band’s musical heritage. In the early 1950s, the “Note” continued the innovative course set by Miller and adopted a more contemporary style under the direction of Sammy Nestico. Today, Master Sergeant Alan Baylock, the Note’s current chief arranger, maintains the band’s commitment to tradition and “cutting edge” innovation.

“The older people (in the audience) will remember Glenn Miller hits from the World War II era,” Winking said. “But they do newer arrangements that really appeal to broad range of audience. They will cover anything.”

        

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