Family and shipmates!

by Senior Chief Musician Philip Burlin

Saxophones signing autographs!

The Commodores jazz ensemble has begun our fall 2012 national tour. We flew out from Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, Oct. 25th to meet our tour bus and equipment truck in Albuquerque, N.M. Our first concert was performed Thursday night at Manzano High School to a very enthusiastic audience of music fans including students from the Manzano H.S. band program. After the concert the band was swarmed with students and audience members with questions about the Navy and Navy music.

Chief Musician Jamie Way with his parents.

This is my 22nd tour with the Commodores and it never ceases to amaze me that band members seem to have friends, relatives, former classmates and teachers, and acquaintances in almost every city we perform. Last night in Albuquerque was no exception. In the audience were the parents of Commodores jazz trombonist Chief Musician Jamie Way. We also met Musician First Class (retired) Dave Natseway (bass trombone), a former band mate of U.S. Navy Band's Executive Officer, Lt. Cmdr. Walt Cline. Mr. Natseway served in Memphis, Hawaii, Japan, and Seattle. He also happens to have attended college with Commodores Lead Trumpeter, Musician First Class Nick Cooper. MU1 Cooper and Mr. Natseway also performed together while Cooper was in the U.S. Air Force Band in Japan and Mr. Natseway was serving in the U.S. Navy 7th Fleet Band in 1998-99. It really is a small world!

From left: MU1 Nick Cooper, Lt. Cmdr. Walt Cline,

MU1 (ret.) Dave Natseway

Our next stop may be “out of this world” as we travel to Roswell, N.M., famous for the alleged crash of an extra-terrestrial spacecraft with alien occupants in July 1947.….very spooky……….

About the Author

Senior Chief Musician Philip Burlin Senior Chief Musician Phil Burlin, a native of Camp Springs, Md., joined the Navy Band in 1991 and is the unit leader of the Commodores. He attended St. Mary’s College of Maryland and later North Texas State University in Denton, Texas, from 1979-1982. Senior Chief Burlin was the producer of the Commodores CD recordings Here and Now and Sessions on M Street and has written numerous compositions and arrangements for the band.