The Glen Miller Legend Lives On

In the mid-1960s some friend accompanied me on a ride from Colchester to Welwyn Garden City where the world famous Glen Miller Orchestra, which had been reformed was to perform – It was a magical night for followers of the Big Band Sound!

We were not disappointed for the band played all original Glen Miller arrangements and the 60-mile journey proved very worthwhile, Next of course many of us wanted to get their latest recording – unfortunately not available at that time.

A few years later, on a visit to Disneyland in Los Angeles there, once again performing was the Glen Miller Orchestra – again a search for a recording which failed.

Imagine then my amazement when visiting the local OP shop in Paraparaumu New Zealand I was faced with – would you believe – a CD of a limited edition recording of this very same orchestra which had been recorded in New York was back in 1991.

Needless to say, I promptly bought it for $3 and I have to say it is my Pride and Joy.

The CD which is a limited Edition is amazing. The sound quality is brilliant and completes a search which started in England and ended up here, in New Zealand after some 50 years of searching.

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Responses

  1. Drummer, excellence and great professionalism is always remembered. Those long slow melodious lines as well as the up-tempo stuff. If you don’t know the John Wison orchestra go to Utube and find him, he puts together a big orchestra and
    plays the old beloved film music as it was designed to be played. There is a Utube of a BBC Christmas concert of his when his wonderful brass players…….. vintage grey guys,pin-ups for the old girls, get to play solo.
    Must say a lot of contemporary music is just an irritation for me gratingly loud, repetitious and vocalists
    shout rather than sing on the whole.
    PS……I believe they recently found remains of the plane that crashed crossing the English Channel, the plane on which Miller was a passenger.

  2. Hello Rockflower – thanks for your response to my blog and also for introducing me to the John Wilson Orchestra – for I had not previously heard of him down under in New Zealand – I have just spent time listening to him and his big Orchestra – Wow – what a sound! Certainly using 8 brass players does add to the overall effect – quite superb. In my younger years, I ran dances in Colchester
    and brought bands like Ted Heath, Cyril Stapleton, Sid Philips, and John Dankworth to our local Dance Hall – I actually met both John and Cleo Laine at a function here is New Zealand in 1975.
    Thanks for your input, kind regards drummer