So, how many albums do you have that state in the liner notes that the music “is approved for the Department of the Air Force”. Talking about an endorsement!
Well, you don’t need to have your wings to appreciate this big band by our fly boys. This is the fourth release I’ve heard from these service men/women, and they know how to swing under the stars.
Carrying on the legacy of Major Glenn Miller, the USAFB mixes accessible vintage swing with some hip soloing, this time including guest appearances by all stars Ted Nash/sax, Diane Schuur/voc and Sean Jones/tp
The ensemble is impressive in its own right, as MSgt Paige Wroble belts out the Kansas City Blues with trumpeter TSgt Logan Keese and trombonist TSgt Matt Hettwer on a snappy “Alright, Okay, You Win”. Jones bops with TSgt Chris Ziemba/p over MSgt David McDonald /dr on a nifty “Touch and Go, while Nash digs in deep during a moody modal read of “Inner Urge”. Schuur is wonderfully sassy on “You Can Have It” and sizzles with SMSgt Geoff Reecer/g on her “Deedle’s Blues”. Nash and Jones smolder on a closing “Besame Mucho”, making the album a perfect flight formation.