Jeep Jockey Jump

Although the Glenn Miller Orchestra has been criticized and/or derided by jazz critics, it was nonetheless a part of the era. Myself, I prefer the live airchecks that are floating around more than any of the studio recordings, and though I do like several of his biggest hits, I think the Army Airforce recordings were rather uninspiring. But that is merely my opinion, and others may enjoy this last part of Miller's career. "In 1942, at the peak of his civilian career, Miller decided to join the war effort. At 38, Miller was too old to be drafted, and first volunteered for the Navy but was told that they did not need his services. Miller then wrote to Army Brigadier General Charles Young. He persuaded the United States Army to accept him so he could, in his own words, "be placed in charge of a modernized Army band." After being accepted into the Army, Miller's civilian band played its last concert in Passaic, New Jersey, on September 27, 1942. His patriotic intention of entertaining the Allied Forces with the fusion of virtuosity and dance rhythms in his music earned him the rank of captain and was soon promoted to major by August 1944.

At first placed in the United States Army, Miller was transferred to the Army Air Force. Captain Glenn Miller served initially as assistant special services officer for the Army Air Forces Southeast Training Center at Maxwell Field, Montgomery, Alabama, in December 1942. He played trombone with the Rhythmaires, a 15-piece dance band, in both Montgomery and in service clubs and recreation halls on Maxwell. Miller also appeared on both WAPI (Birmingham, Alabama) and WSFA radio (Montgomery), promoting the activities of civil service women aircraft mechanics employed at Maxwell.

Miller initially formed a large marching band that was to be the core of a network of service orchestras. Miller's attempts at modernizing military music were met with some resistance from tradition-minded career officers. For example, Miller's arrangement of "St. Louis Blues March", combined blues and jazz with the traditional military march. Miller's weekly radio broadcast "I Sustain the Wings", for which he co-wrote the eponymous theme song, moved from New Haven to New York City and was very popular. This led to permission for Miller to form his 50-piece Army Air Force Band and take it to England in the summer of 1944, where he gave 800 performances. While in England, now Major Miller recorded a series of records at EMI owned Abbey Road Studios. EMI at this time was the British and European distributor for RCA Victor. The recordings the AAF band made in 1944 at Abbey Road were propaganda broadcasts for the Office of War Information. Many songs are sung in German by Johnny Desmond and Glenn Miller speaks in German about the war effort." (Wikipedia). Enjoy! +

Tracks

Disc One
01 - Over There
02 - Anvil Chorus
03 - Stardust
04 - Song Of The Volga Boat Men
05 - Farewell Blues
06 - They Are All Yanks
07 - My Ideal
08 - Mission To Moscow
09 - Sun Valley Jump
10 - Tuxedo Junction
11 - I'll Be Around
12 - Poinciana
13 - I Hear You Screamin'
14 - Juke Box Saturday Night
15 - My Blue Heaven

Disc Two
01 - Saint Louis Blues March
02 - It Must Be Jelly
03 - Blues In My Heart
04 - Everybody Lover My Baby
05 - Medley
06 - Victory Polka
07 - There'll Be A Hot Time In The Town Od Berlin
08 - Flying Home
09 - Here We Go Again
10 - Glenn  Miller - Jeep Jockey Jump
11 - Enlisted Men's Mess
12 - Begin The Beguine
13 - In The Mood