Glenn Miller: In the Mood

During the Big Band era, jazz and America's popular music converged. Why? The answer's between your ankles and toes. Big Band jazz was dance music. Moving souls was all well and good, but moving soles meant money in the bank. Nobody grasped this principle more firmly than Glenn Miller. Here he fashions a simple blues riff into an irresistible invitation to no-holds-barred jitterbugging. After tenormen Beneke and Klink trade licks for kicks, and trumpeter Hurley's solo is solidly sent, Miller cagily lowers the dynamics to soft, softer, softest until a Trumpet-Section Flourish leads to A ROUSING FINALE. Calculated but thrilling.