Glenn Miller Glenn & Benny CD

This four-CD set contains nearly five hours of music, and while little of it is central to the output of either featured artist, all of it is worthwhile. The Glenn Miller material might seem especially peripheral, since all of it has been released elsewhere commercially, but the producers have done an excellent job with the sound, especially on the Carnegie Hall concert that forms the first half of disc two, and none of the authorized distributors have upgraded their versions of these performances (or kept them in print, for that matter) in many years. This is not only the easiest way to get that material but also one of its better presentations, with excellent fidelity throughout and a big boost in volume over the rather anemic-sounding, now-deleted RCA issue of the late '80s. The soundtrack performances from Sun Valley Serenade and Orchestra Wives are also worth hearing and also missing in action from their legitimate sources -- and the soundtrack recordings from The Glenn Miller Story, although a bit of a cheat being included here, sound wonderful, and they do feature the Miller bandmembers. The Benny Goodman sides are from the 1950s, and the centerpiece there is the 1951 broadcast benefit to aid Fletcher Henderson that preserves some of the latter's most popular arrangements in excellent form. The rest of the Goodman portion is filled out with early-'50s sides by his sextet or his band, which are always a treat on numbers like "King Porter Stomp" and others. The annotation is also extremely thorough, making this a particularly choice release for completists on either bandleader. ~ Bruce Eder

This 4-CD box set combines pieces from Glenn & Benny. The Miller set collects two soundtracks from Glenn's movies "Sun Valley Serenade" and "Orchestra Wives." Also included is the 1939 performance from Carnegie Hall featuring Goodman and Paul Whiteman, p