Glenn Miller recorded the song for V-Disc release in 1944 with the Army Air Force Band.[1]Miles Davis made the song a staple of his repertoire and released it on the 1957 Capitol Records Birth of the Cool collection, the 1996 Blue Note Records album Ballads and Blues, and the 1998 The Complete Birth of the Cool album. The Miles Davis recording appeared in the Ken Burns jazz documentary for PBS entitled Jazz in 2002.
"Moon Dreams" was recorded by Glenn Miller and the Army Air Force Band on January 21, 1944 and was released as a V-Disc, No. 201A, in October, 1944, featuring Sgt. Johnny Desmond and The Crew Chiefs on vocals. Glenn Miller also recorded the song on February 26, 1944, for the I Sustain the Wings radio program and on May 5, 1944, for the Office of War Information (OWI). Martha Tilton recorded "Moon Dreams" in 1942 for Capitol Records, which was co-founded by Johnny Mercer, the co-writer of the song.
"Moon Dreams" also appeared in the 1988 motion picture 36 fillette.[2]
"Moon Dreams" was also featured on the soundtrack collection Ken Burns Jazz: The Story of America's Music (2000), in a performance by Miles Davis, arranged by Gil Evans. Miles Davis first performed the song in 1948 in concert in New York, a performance which appears on The Complete Birth of the Cool sessions collection.
In 2008, "Moon Dreams" was featured in the Fox series The Simpsons in the episode "Mypods and Boomsticks" in a performance by Miles Davis.[3]
Cool jazz is a style of modern jazz music that arose in the United States after World War II. It is characterized by relaxed tempos and lighter tone, in contrast to the fast and complex bebop style. Cool jazz often employs formal arrangements and incorporates elements of classical music. Broadly, the genre refers to a number of post-war jazz styles employing a more subdued approach than that found in other contemporaneous jazz idioms. As Paul Tanner, Maurice Gerow, and David Megill suggest, "the tonal sonorities of these conservative players could be compared to pastel colors, while the solos of [Dizzy] Gillespie and his followers could be compared to fiery red colors."
Gerald Joseph Mulligan was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though Mulligan is primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists – playing the instrument with a light and airy tone in the era of cool jazz – he was also a significant arranger, working with Claude Thornhill, Miles Davis, Stan Kenton, and others. Mulligan's pianoless quartet of the early 1950s with trumpeter Chet Baker is still regarded as one of the best cool jazz groups. Mulligan was also a skilled pianist and played several other reed instruments. Several of his compositions, such as "Walkin' Shoes" and "Five Brothers", have become jazz standards.
Birth of the Cool is a compilation album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released in 1957 on Capitol Records. It compiles eleven tracks recorded by Davis's nonet for the label over the course of three sessions during 1949 and 1950.
Martha Tilton was an American popular singer during America's swing era and traditional pop period. She is best known for her 1939 recording of "And the Angels Sing" with Benny Goodman.
John Chalmers MacGregor, better known as Chummy MacGregor, a musician and composer, was the pianist in The Glenn Miller Orchestra from 1936 to 1942. He composed the songs "Moon Dreams", "It Must Be Jelly ", "I Sustain the Wings", "Doin' the Jive", "Sold American", "Cutesie Pie" in 1932 with Bing Crosby and Red Standex, and "Slumber Song".
Between 1938 and 1944, Glenn Miller and His Orchestra released 266 singles on the monaural ten-inch shellac 78 rpm format. Their studio output comprised a variety of musical styles inside of the Swing genre, including ballads, band chants, dance instrumentals, novelty tracks, songs adapted from motion pictures, and, as the Second World War approached, patriotic music.
The Crew Chiefs were a vocal group popular in the 1940s, known for accompanying Tex Beneke, Glenn Miller, and Ray McKinley. Member Artie Malvin co-wrote the song "I'm Headin' For California" with Glenn Miller in 1944.
"Sunrise Serenade" is a jazz song written by Frankie Carle with lyrics by Jack Lawrence. It was first recorded in 1939 by Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra with Carle on piano as Decca 2321. It soon became Carle's signature piece. Glenn Miller released a famous recording of it a few months later, arranged by Bill Finnegan, with "Moonlight Serenade" on the backside.
Chasin' the Bird is a live album by Miles Davis released in 2000.
"A String of Pearls" is a 1941 song composed by Jerry Gray with lyrics by Eddie DeLange. It was notably recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra on RCA Bluebird that November, becoming a #1 hit. The song is a big band and jazz standard.
"Doin' the Jive" is a 1938 song composed by Glenn Miller and pianist Chummy MacGregor. The song was released as a 78 single by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra on Brunswick.
Sometime is a 1939 song composed by Glenn Miller, Chummy MacGregor, and Mitchell Parish and performed for radio broadcast only. The song was never recorded in the studio but was performed live for remote radio broadcast on the Mutual and Blue Network from the Meadowbrook Ballroom in Cedar Grove, New Jersey.
"7-0-5" or "Seven-O-Five" or "705" is an instrumental composed by Glenn Miller in 1943. The instrumental was performed by the Army Air Force Orchestra under the leadership of Capt. Glenn Miller in 1943-1944 and in 1945 under Sgt. Jerry Gray.
"I Sustain the Wings" is a 1943 big band and jazz instrumental co-written by Glenn Miller. The instrumental was the theme for the eponymous radio program broadcast on CBS and NBC from 1943 to 1945.
"It Must Be Jelly " is a 1942 jazz and pop song recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. The song was released as an RCA 78 single by Glenn Miller in 1944. Woody Herman also released the song as a single and as a V-Disc.
"Introduction to a Waltz" is a 1941 swing jazz instrumental by Glenn Miller. The instrumental was featured on two radio broadcasts of the Chesterfield program and was released as a 45 EP single.
"Pennsylvania 6-5000" is a 1940 swing jazz and pop standard with music by Jerry Gray and lyrics by Carl Sigman. It was recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra as a Bluebird 78 rpm single.
"Here We Go Again" is a swing jazz instrumental recorded by Glenn Miller. The song was released as a 78 single.
"The Technical Training Command" is a 1943 big band and jazz song performed and co-written by Glenn Miller. The instrumental version was a theme for I Sustain the Wings, the radio program broadcast on CBS and NBC from 1943 to 1945.
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