There’s a special breed of musician who graduates from music school and decides to sign up for a military band.
“1967 is when I went through basic training myself,” retired United States Air Force Band flautist Marty Lockaby said. “I think they did poke some fun at me when they realized I was going to the band. Of course, things were actually a little rougher back in ‘67, during the Vietnam era. They were allowed to hit folks here. They don’t allow things like that anymore in training. They still holler and scream at ‘em and all that, but that’s just part of basic training.”
Lockaby has since retired from the military but he still works as musical resource specialist for the Air Force Band of the West, a 45-member concert band headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. The Band’s jazz ensemble will be performing a free concert Nov. 12 at McCurdy School in Española (see box for more details).
Lockaby said much of a Band member’s daily life is like any other airman. They show up for duty hours at 7:30 a.m. They wear their uniforms to work, and they handle additional duties such as holding auditions, managing supplies and scheduling performances. All along the way, they remind people that they’re much more than just “Taps” players.
“There’s a lot of people that have this perception about a military band, any military band, that all they do is play marches and march in parades,” he said. “But the majority of the folks that are in this organization, and a lot of other military bands, they’re music majors.”
The Band, which is stacked with players holding bachelor’s, master’s and even doctorate degrees in music, includes not only the jazz group but also brass and country ensembles. Lockaby said commanders work with concert sponsors to choose a set list that will appeal to everyone in the audience.
Although the jazz band tends to attract an older crowd with its repertoire of big-band tunes, overall the Band of the West plays to widely diverse audiences, Lockaby said. One of its ensembles is Top Flight, a rock band complete with electric guitar and drums.
Two weeks ago, Band members toured and performed before 7,000 elementary-school students to support the anti-drug messages of Red Ribbon Week.
“They pick out the tunes that they know those young people like,” he said. “They’ll talk to their kids or they’ll go out and talk to other kids and find out what’s ‘hot’ with some of the fourth-graders and fifth-graders.”
In line with their mission of service, Band’s trumpeters are often requested to play “Taps” at military burials. Lockaby said he frequently sends Air Force vocalists to perform the national anthem for home games of the Houston Astros, the Dallas Cowboys and the San Antonio Spurs. The jazz ensemble recently converted to a ceremonial unit during a tour of the Dallas area, he said.
Although the band conducts seven to eight tours a year, they also take time out to try and reach an even broader audience. Lockaby said the jazz ensemble just spent a few days in the recording studio for an album that will be released late this year or early next year. The Band’s recordings are distributed free of charge to community libraries, radio stations and educational institutions.
Librarians, educators and broadcasters may request recordings at www.bandofthewest.af.mil/recordings/. The Band’s main website has a complete history and schedule of performances.