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Top Brass: US Airmen of Note

US Airmen of Note perform Live in IPR's Studio A

Well, this was a new one for Studio A:  a room full of musicians who can assemble and disassemble a saxophone and an M-16 rifle.  The US Airmen of Note, the premier jazz ensemble of the United States Air Force Band came by to play us some cool arrangements and chat about life as full-time military musicians.

The US Airmen of Note travel to perform and teach all over the United States.  Their mission is to show goodwill and represent the excellence of the Air Force, but also to give audiences a personal form of interaction - to show there's more to Armed Services members than a uniform.  The Airmen of Note hosted a free concert on the Interlochen campus, and remained behind afterward to teach a master class and entertain us from Studio A.

The Airmen performed a snazzy Charlie Parker tune, and a pretty-but-still-cool arrangement of Harold Arlen's, "Over the Rainbow."  We were over the moon.   Many thanks to Master Sergeant Tyler Kuebler (Lead Alto and Music Director), Master Sergeant Andy Axelrad, Technical Sergeant Tedd Baker, Technical Sergeant Grant Langford, Master Sergeant Doug Moran, and Senior Master Sergeant Tim Leahey for their service - and the great music.

Kate Botello is a host and producer at Classical IPR.