Air Force band performs on Veterans Day

Elgin residents will have a unique opportunity to experience a world-class big band for free.

The U.S. Air Force Academy Falconaires will give a free Veterans Day performance at 7 p.m. at the Hemmens Cultural Center.

For the uninitiated, the Falconaires are an 18-piece jazz ensemble and part of the Air Force Academy's 56-member band. Its members are full-time, active duty professional musicians who play Glenn Miller-era big band music, as well as contemporary styles, said Master Sgt. Scott Crump.

"We play the big bands that came through the 1930s and 40s -- we're a direct descendant of the Glenn Miller Band ... (who was with) the Army Air Force. We basically come from that whole era. We play his music, as well as contemporary standards of today."

In 1942, Capt. Glenn Miller was an assistant special services officer and played trombone with the Rhythmaires, a 15-piece dance band at the Army Air Force's Southeast Training Center at Maxwell Field in Montgomery, Ala. Miller later formed a 50-piece Army Air Force Band and gave 800 performances throughout England in the summer of 1944.

Crump serves as the Falconaires' music director and plays trombone in the group. He's been a professional musician with the Air Force for 21 years.

The Falconaires support the Air Force through goodwill concerts such as these, as well as serve as a recruitment and educational tool.

"It's a great job," he said. "I love my job." The band performs at Air Force functions around the world.

Elgin's date is a midway point in a mini weeklong tour starting Nov. 8 in Chicago and ending Nov. 14 in Detroit.

"Oddly enough, what a lot of people don't realize is that most of the people in this job, everybody is very highly trained," he said. "Ninety-nine percent of the folks in this occupation have master's degrees or doctorates in music. Some were full-time (musicians) at Disney, or in road bands. They chose the military as a way of life, and they can continue with (their) passion. These are very highly skilled folks."

Typically, people have 15 to 20 years of experience playing an instrument before they get into the ultra-exclusive band.

"It's pretty much a lifelong thing; they know their instruments well," Crump said.

Musicians audition for the band program before getting into the military, he said, and that gives them a direct duty assignment to the band after basic training.

The U.S. Air Force Academy Band is a self-contained unit, with every member having a job within the band.

"I'm in charge of the Falconaires. Before this job, I was over the supply department," he said. "Essentially, the band is self-contained. We have our own public affairs department, music library, administration. They're all connected and inter-related to the band as a whole."

Crump designs each show, and has "a repertoire for every single gig." The Elgin date includes tunes by Glenn Miller, Harry James, Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Duke Ellington and of course some patriotic tunes. He said the show would last roughly an hour and a half.

The Falconaires consist of five saxophones, four trombones, four trumpets, a piano, bass, drums, female vocalist and two audio engineers.

Shortly after this mini tour, "We'll get the concert band cranking up and then go on the road to do Christmas with the concert band," he said.

The Falconaires aren't the only small ensemble in the main band, he said. There are 10 total, including two woodwind quintets, a clarinet trio, and even a rock band and a country band.

"Any type of music you could think of comes out of the building," he said.

Many members write songs and arrangements for the group, and oftentimes those will be performed, he said.