Shipmates, Legends and Buddy

The Commodores are currently on a three-week tour of the West Coast. For more information, visit our website.

Having arrived in Seattle the night before, the Commodores enjoyed a beautiful day in the great Northwest and a scenic drive up to Everett, Wash., for our concert. This was a special night of tour in several ways.

First, we conducted a clinic for middle school students from the Everett public schools. It's always a treat to get to interact with the next generation of musicians. Hopefully, we inspired them to keep practicing - I'd love to see some of them performing as members of the Navy Band someday!

We also got to see some of our shipmates in Navy Band Northwest. They are under the leadership of Lt. j.g. Seph Coats - formerly a bassist in the U.S. Navy Band. We were all pleased to see how well he is doing in his new assignment.

Another member of Navy Band Northwest is Chief Musician Danny McGowan. He is the stepson of the late great James Moody. Moody (as he insisted on being called) was truly one of the legends of jazz, and also one of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. The Commodores had the privilege of performing with Moody several times over the years. McGowan was at the concert with his family, including his mother, Linda Moody. I had a great time chatting with them before the show. We dedicated "If You Could See Me Now" (performed beautifully by Chief Musician Luis Hernandez) to the memory of the great Moody.

We are almost finished with what has been a wonderful west coast tour. Many thanks to our fantastic tour managers, Chief Musician Peter Revell and Musician 1st Class Scott Shepherd. Also, we'd like to thank the most courteous and professional bus driver you could ever hope to have, Mr. Buddy Martin. We look forward to traveling with you again!

Chief Musician Bill Mulligan plays woodwinds and is the leading chief petty officer and master of ceremonies for the Commodores.