Jazz
The Mills Blue Rhythm Band was one of the top few black big bands of the 30s. Musically those "Instrumental Gentlemen of Harlem" (as they were billed) could compete with the Duke Ellingtons and Fletcher Hendersons of the day but, lacking a charismatic leader, they have tended to be overlooked. Irving Mills intended them to be alternatives to the other big bands he managed, Ellington's and Cab Calloway's, but their originality and musicianship made them a significant outfit in their own right, despite being limited to a short life from 1931 to 1936. |
