Washington, D.C. -- The Airmen of Note are preparing for one of their busiest and most significant Jazz Appreciation Months to date.
Celebrated in April, Jazz Appreciation Month, fondly known as “JAM,” was created in 2001 to honor jazz as an early American art form. John Edward Hasse, PhD, founder of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, is credited with creating this musical celebration.
The Airmen of Note serves as a keystone to connect the legacies of jazz and the United States Air Force. This band has represented the innovative spirit of jazz and the excellence of the Air Force since 1950.
The month begins by honoring both the history and progressiveness of jazz with the much-anticipated final concert of the Airmen of Note’s Jazz Heritage Series. Legendary saxophonist and composer Branford Marsalis will be the featured guest artist with the band on Thursday, April 5 at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Hall in Alexandria, Virginia.
Later in the month, the Airmen of Note will join the British Royal Air Force’s “Squadronaires” jazz band in a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force. Sharing the stage at the Music Center at Strathmore, both bands will perform side-by-side for the final selections.
The Note will then begin preparing for their tour of New England, which begins on Sunday, April 22 in New Hampshire and takes the band through Maine and Massachusetts (click here for tour dates and locations). Every public appearance by the band exemplifies the excellence of airmen all over the world, and this tour is no exception.
In addition to their concerts in April, the Airmen of Note are preparing for their latest studio album, which will be recorded immediately following their tour. This album will feature music from around the world, honoring some of the nation’s most significant diplomatic allies, and the band will be performing this same music, live on their April tour.