Former airman, Johnny Carson musician, dies

[cec]

Former airman, Johnny Carson musician, dies




By Bryant Jordan - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday May 1, 2007 1649 EDT

Tommy Newsom, a former airman who went on to become the low-key, unflappable backup bandleader on “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson died April 29 at his Portsmouth, Va., home. Newsom, who had cancer, was 78.
Newsom, a saxophonist, joined the Air Force after graduating with a B.A. in Music Education from the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, according to an obituary posted on his nephew James’ Web site. As a member of the Air Force’s jazz band, Airmen of Note, Newsom performed throughout the United States, Europe and the Middle East.
“Being in the Air Force was his first real taste of being a full-time musician,” said his nephew, who heads up the Jim Newsom Quartet, a Norfolk, Va.-based jazz band. “He once said, ‘I was going to be a teacher, but after playing in Airmen of Note, with the quality of the musicians and traveling all around the world, that made me think I’d have to reconsider.’”
Being in Airmen of Note “was not a bad way to be in the military,” Newsom recalled his uncle saying. “He saw it as a very positive experience.”
Newsom started with The Tonight Show in 1962 and rose from band member to assistant music director, retiring in 1992 along with Carson. Newsom was a frequent straight-man for Carson, who dubbed him “Mr. Excitement” for his low-key personality and staid suits.
The Tonight Show received five Emmy Awards during Newsom’s years on the show, and Newsom won music direction Emmys for “Night of 100 Stars” in 1982 and “The 40th Annual Tony Awards Show” in 1986.


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