Special Bands, Special Rules

The U.S. Navy Band and the Naval Academy Band had a tremendous allure for fleet bandsmen, who spent their off-duty hours locked in practice rooms in hopes of, one day, being accepted into one of the "special bands."

Others looked down on these groups. "Special rules" and "special privaleges" held little attraction for hardcore fleet MUs.

Well, there's certainly something special about the Naval Academy Brass Quintet. Have a quick listen to some of their live performance in this video.



Did you notice the broad, full sound, richer and more robust than the sound of most brass quintets.

Did you also notice the group has six players, slightly more than the number found in most brass quintets?

I always thought it was superior musicianship that made the special bands superior. Now I see that it's really special math. Imagine the bold, brassy sound of a seven-man Naval Academy jazz quartet. I'll bet they have to build special extensions on stages to hold an entire Naval Academy sextet.

I wonder how many MUs they schedule for a solo piano gig.

Name the players

Here's a clip of the School of Music Faculty Lab Band playing "Eli's Coming" in early 1986.

I was just leaving SOM for Japan at this time, and don't recall the concert. In fact, I hardly recognize any of the performers. This may be because I'd been too busy concentrating on the physical requirements for Advanced Course students: hiding your head, covering your butt and watching your back.


Army Specialist Bill Maley is the trumpet sololist, a fine and talented fellow. The announcer is another soldier, Charlie Ross, who worked on the third deck in Instrument Repair.

And I recognize the leader, Navy Chief Warrant Officer Larry Gatewood. Oh yes, I certainly do. Yep, I remember him.

But as for the rest--any ideas?