Last week, the Soldiers of The U.S. Army Field Band had an amazing experience; recording selections with the Marcus Roberts Trio.  Marcus is one of the leading jazz pianists in the world, as well as being an award-winning composer and a distinguished educator. 

This is a photo of Marcus at the keyboard.  Although he is blind, after a few minutes with him you completely forget that and know that this is absolutely someone who you would never, ever call "disabled." He's an amazing musician and also a wonderful guy to be around.

This is his bass player, Rodney Jordan. He's a New Orleans native and a terrific player.

This is the drumer in the trio, Jason Marsalis.  You may have also heard of his brothers, Wynton Marsalis, the world famous trumpet player and Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center; and saxophonist Branford Marsalis, formerly director of the Tonight Show Band.  Jason also hails from New Orleans.  Here he is behind his drums inside the enclosure we use during recordings to keep the sound from bleeding into the other microphones.

Here's a shot of the entire set, showing how we use baffles to isolate the trio's sound but maintain good sight lines.  The camera in the lower right was focused on Marcus's hands that I could see in a small video monitor next to the conducting stand.

The session was really intense but enjoyable.  Here you see the trumpet section concentrating on their entrance.

Recording CD tracks at this level requires great musicians, superb technicians, and a lot of equipment.  Here's a shot of what much of the room looked like.

The Soldier at the center of the technical side of the session was SFC Howie Smith, one of our great audio engineers.

Here, Marcus and I are just chatting between takes.

The performers (and conductor) in the room rely on the team in the audio booth to listen with the most critical ears to tell us what needs to be fixed, to keep track of "good takes," and make sure that at the end of the session we have a "Grammy Ready" product.  MAJ Bruce Pulver, Deputy Commander of The U.S. Army Field Band, is head producer and pulls everything together.

Between takes there's all kinds of verbal and non-verbal communication that occurs very quickly.  Just like any Army specialty, professional musicians have their own "lingo."  Here, Jason and I are talking about what kind of rhythmic feel we want.

Whether in uniform or not, there's deep respect between musicians.  SFC Tim Young, the fabulous pianist with America's Big Band, the Jazz Ambassadors, talks "piano stuff" with Marcus.

In just a few days, groups of The U.S. Army Field Band will be travelling throughout the upper Midwest of the U.S. presenting free performances.  Check out the schedule at ArmyFieldBand.com and follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/fieldband or Twitter www.twitter.com/FieldBand for the latest news.