A few months ago, I once again watched James Stewart in the title role of The Glenn Miller Story. In the early 1940s, Miller was constantly striving to find the unique sound that he wanted for his orchestra, and in the movie we see him filling pages of manuscript paper as he tries and tries to realise the elusive arrangement that will set his band apart from others.
Eventually, as yet again he re-scores Moonlight Serenade (perhaps a little artistic license taken there!), he finally hits on the particular combination of clarinet and saxes which would characterise the ‘Glenn Miller Sound’, which in turn came to epitomise the era. Miller himself played trombone, but that instrument was too big for this intimate, close up composition!
