GLENN MILLER, leader of the most universally beloved of all big bands, was born on March 1,
1904 in Clarinda, Iowa. Miller developed his trademark reed sound: four saxophones and
one clarinet. By the age of 40, Miller had created and popularized a sound that would become
legendary. Four years later, on December 15, 1944, Miller’s plane was lost over the English
Channel.
MICHAEL GIBBS, grandseigneur, British composer and arranger, was working during his long
career with stars like Pat Metheny, John McLaughlin, John Scofi eld, Michael Mantler, Mike Stern,
Joni Mitchell, Whitney Houston, Carla Bley, Gary Burton, Laurie Anderson and Peter Gabriel. He
is ambitious to reinterpret the Glenn Miller Sound in cooperation with modern jazz orchestras.
Michael Gibbs about his relationship to the music of Glenn Miller: ”When I was a teenager, in
Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), my music teacher started a large band for dances and concerts, and
their repertoire was mostly drawn from Glenn Miller charts. I remember my fi rst experience ever
hearing the big band, and this music – it was very exciting to me and has stayed with me all these
years, which is why, today, I still have a soft spot for Glenn Miller music. My versions of the music
do vary from the originals, but I do keep at least a small aspect of the originals in each version.
For me, its a trip down a nostalgic road – with a difference, respectively!“
We, the musicians of the UAJO, are very proud, because one of the most outstanding composers
and arrangers for jazzbigbands will cooperate with us once more. Listen and enjoy!
