The SHAPE Jazz Orchestra releases its first CD!

The newly christened SHAPE Jazz Orchestra (formerly the SHAPE Jazz Ambassadors) has recorded its first-ever Compact Disc! The SHAPE Jazz Orchestra is the premier performing ensemble of the SHAPE International Band. All of the SHAPE Jazz Orchestra members are professional military musicians from the United States, Italy, Germany and Norway.

This CD is a representation of the band’s live set performed at such places as the Brussels Jazz Marathon, the Ekeren Jazz Festival and other jazz venues throughout central Europe. The recording features enduring standards such as “In the Mood” and the drum tour-de-force “Sing, Sing, Sing” (the band’s live encore number). Staff Sergeant Laura Cyree (vocals) adds an exciting dimension to the band’s sound with performances on the upbeat “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” and the tender ballad “Skylark”.

Recording of band tracks took place during the week of October 16-20, 2000. Recording engineer Michel Mayan, owner of SPM Records of Tournai, Belgium produced the band’s first vinyl album in 1988 (out of print) and was brought in again to engineer this important project. To produce this new CD, he brought his mobile recording studio to the band’s rehearsal facility on SHAPE. His American-model conversion van is equipped with a 32-track recording mixer, reel-to-reel tape machines, high-fidelity speakers and signal processors. A video and intercom system provided communication from the van to the building. Michel also brought his impressive collection of microphones for recording.

After the basic tracks were finished, selected band members traveled to SPM Records’ main studio in Tournai to record overdubs for vocals and solos. After the recording, the next step in the process was the “mixdown”. This involved taking each instrumental, solo and vocal track and balancing each against the other to a master tape, achieving a true sonic picture of the band in performance.

The SHAPE Band’s previous recordings are the 1988 LP featuring both concert band and jazz band selections and a 1990 recording called “National Anthems of the North Atlantic Alliance”. This was available on LP and cassette and is still used to provide honors when the band is not available.

Staff Sergeant Gerry Holland (saxophone) conceived the CD cover design and produced the layout with Technical Sergeant Bill Smith (trombone). If the art looks slightly familiar, it’s because the painting is a classic by Peter Brueghel the Elder, a famous Flemish Renaissance-era painter. A closer look reveals some instruments that don’t exactly date from the Renaissance!