[78-L] Miller Music

[David Weiner]

I remember a chat I had with my mother about 10 years ago (she was
born in 1923) about Miller's music.  She didn't care anything about it
after all those years; actually she'd been burnt out on it for
decades.   She said sure, Miller was good back in the day but so were
others like Shaw, Herman, Goodman, Basie, and such like.   And their
music got better as time went on, even as it got harder to find.  And
still the old Miller stuff hung on, and on, and on....same old same
old.  (Yawn.)   She was tired of it well before 1950.
------

Don't want to get into a whole defense-of-Glenn thing here, but I've been
listening to his music for more than 40 years and haven't tired of it yet. 

Of course, if Glenn had lived, I think his music would have changed and
stayed fresh - even by 1942, he had de-emphasized the clarinet lead and was
playing richer and more sophisticated charts.  And the AAF Band was a
different animal entirely, fully modern and up-to-date.  The postwar GM Band
under Tex Beneke retained the AAF sound, but as the years passed without
real creative input, I think the "Miller Sound" devolved back to the reed
trademark and the "boo-wah" brass.  

Dave W.