Although much maligned, since his disappearance over the English Channel in Dec. 1944, there have probably been more Miller tribute bands than those of Basie, Ellington, Goodman and Shaw combined.
In America, Tex Beneke, Ralph Flanagan, Ray McKinley and even Glenn's previously unknown brother Herb jumped on to the 'bandwagon' if you'll pardon the pun.
In the UK, bands such as Syd Lawrence and Ray McVay continued to serenade the moon and I believe that there's even a Syd Lawrence tribute band doing the rounds.
In the excellent, albeit inaccurate, movie The Glenn Miller Story much emphasis was placed on Miller the arranger although some of his best numbers such as Little Brown Jug and String of Pearls were actually arranged by Bill Finegan and Jerry Gray. Billy May also chipped in.
However, Miller's greatest achievement was his leadership of the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band.
Based in Bedford, England, the band of the American Expeditionary Force has been well documented in Geoffrey Butcher's book Next to a Letter From Home. Q
With a line-up that included Mel Powell, Peanuts Hucko, Bernie Priven, Ray McKinley, Nat Peck (later with Clarke, Boland) the band out-swung their civilian counterpart hands down. And, with vocalist Johnny Desmond, who was nicknamed 'The Creamer' - no guesses as to which part of his listener's anatomy he was 'creaming' - it was the real deal. Pure conjecture but, had Sinatra answered the call and Desmond been classified as being '4F' then the course of popular singing may have changed - at least until Elvis came along!
An RCA album displays the band at its most swinging with a version of Flying Home that ranks alongside Hamp's.
Then there was the Uptown Hall Gang, the small group that was brilliantly recreated by Martin Litton at this year's Classic Jazz Party.
True there was a lot of schmaltz in Miller's recordings but there was also a lot of swing and it is for this latter quality I will remember him. Lance
3 comments :
I sometimes wonder how many fans of the more schmaltzy Glenn Miller records will know about the time he played 'hot trombone' with the Mound City Blue Blowers on that classic 1930 recording of Hello Lola. Incidentally, this was one of poet Philip Larkin's Desert Island top ten records.
The jazz world has Glenn Miller to blame for my efforts over the past 58 years - it was seeing the Jimmy Shhtewart movie on the telly in 1965 that got me into playing jazz. Further to Patti's comment above, Miller was also a fine soloist in the Ben Pollack band of the late 1920s, alongside such luminaries as Benny Goodman and Jimmy McPartland. He was replaced by Jack Teagarden, who, Miller was the first to admit, took jazz trombone playing to another level!
Hello! I'm hoping to contact the New Century Ragtime Orchestra. I lead a Ragtime orchestra in Olathe, Kansas, USA, and I'm seeking an orchestration for "Hello, Ma Baby". Please email me at violaphone@gmail.com . Any help appreciated!
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