Andrew Clemenson, a member of The Sky Kings Saxophone Quartet, plays drums with the group at Cafe de Noel near Yokota Air Base, Japan, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. (Theron Godbold/Stars and Stripes)
Andrew Clemenson, a member of The Sky Kings Saxophone Quartet, plays drums with the group at Cafe de Noel near Yokota Air Base, Japan, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. (Theron Godbold/Stars and Stripes)
Members of The Sky Kings Saxophone Quartet perform at Cafe de Noel near Yokota Air Base, Japan, Friday Nov. 30, 2018. (Theron Godbold/Stars and Stripes)
Members of The Sky Kings Saxophone Quartet play at Cafe de Noel for their first gig as a group on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018, near Yokota Air Base, Japan. (Theron Godbold/Stars and Stripes)
Derrick Newbold plays alto saxophone for The Sky Kings Saxophone Quartet at Cafe de Noel for their first gig as a group on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018, near Yokota Air Base, Japan. (Theron Godbold/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — A band of Air Force saxophone players debuted their side project Friday at a blues-and-jazz club near the home of U.S. Forces Japan in western Tokyo.
The Sky Kings Saxophone Quartet count as members Ian B’Beirne, band leader and soprano sax; Derrick Newbold, alto sax; Jacob Wright, tenor sax; and Jeremiah True, baritone sax. Drummer Andrew Clemenson backs the quartet.
All five are musicians with the Air Force Band of the Pacific. Friday’s performance was their first independent gig for a small crowd at Café de Noel, just outside the air base.
All five, stationed at Yokota, formed the Sky Kings as an outlet for their own music and to keep their skills sharp, True said.
“It benefits us all to do this kind of thing and gives us a creative outlet,” he said.
The Sky Kings expect to play again but have no definite dates lined up.
