The Glenn Miller orchestra had, besides its known ‘sweet’ repertoire, a more swinging side to it as well. Especially in live recordings you can hear a band with surprising vitality, which could sound more black than many a white group at the time. In this Jazz Special at the Concertzender, material can be heard from the 1939-1941 period. Many of these songs were given their shape by black arranger Eddie Durham, who had already worked for Bennie Moten, Jimmie Lunceford, Count Basie and others before.
In the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, the epicentre of the black dancing culture, the Glenn Miller Orchestra was also a popular band. In this programme you can hear why.
3’35” Hallelujah! (Youmans, Robin, Grey) Archive of Jazz 101.601 3’15” Pagan Love Song (Freed, Brown) Retrieval RTR 79001 4’04” Hold Tight (Brandow, Spotswood, Miller) RCA NL 89714 2’30” The Jumpin’ Jive (Calloway, Palmer) Archive of Jazz 101.601 3’41” St. Louis Blues (Handy) RCA LPM-1192-C 3’07” Farewell Blues (Schoebel, Mares, Rappolo) Archive of Jazz 101.601 2’34” King Porter Stomp (Morton) RCA LPM-1192-C 2’40” Fanhat Stomp (?) Magic AWE22 2’16” I Want To Be Happy (Youmans, Caesar) Magic AWE22 2’58” Are You Rusty, Gate? (Gray) Magic AWE22 2’51” Sliphorn Jive (Durham) Queen-disc Q-047 2’03” Boog It (Calloway) Queen-disc Q-047 2’01” Tiger Rag (La Rocca
) Queen-disc Q-047 2’38” Measure For Measure (May) Mercury 826 635-2 3’36” I Got Rhythm (Gershwin, Gershwin) His Master’s Voice DLP 1012 2’48” Limehouse Blues (Braham, Furber) His Master’s Voice DLP 1012 5’36” Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (trad) RCA SF8117
