Swinging Against the Axis

Name: Swinging Against the Axis
Price: 229 AUD
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ISBN: 9781496862204

Glenn Miller's WWII Army Air Forces Band at Yale

Bill Tortolano, Dennis M. Spragg

$229

Hardback

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English

University Press of Mississippi
21 April 2026

20th century & contemporary classical music; Jazz; Individual composers & musicians, bands & groups; 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000; Second World War

Series: American Made Music Series

Glenn Miller was already famous when he enlisted in the Army Air Forces. Glenn Miller and His Orchestra was one of the most popular and successful bands of the big band era. While the bands of the Dorsey brothers, Benny Goodman, and Artie Shaw were identified by their leaders’ instrument, Miller focused on orchestration.

In 1942, Miller volunteered for the US military. During World War II, Generals ""Hap"" Arnold and Barton K. Yount sought ways to wage influence instead of war. They commissioned musicians, actors, and artists such as Samuel Barber, Ronald Reagan, and Ogden Pleissner to help raise morale at home, on the front lines, and behind enemy lines, where new music and even jazz were prohibited by the Third Reich. Miller, considered the father of the modern US military bands, worked to hone his sound. It was at Yale that he added strings, French horn, and extra percussion to his musical palette, assembling the finest group of musicians in the military. His distinctive sound was the result of years of serious study in harmony, form, and orchestration.

Swinging Against the Axis: Glenn Miller's WWII Army Air Forces Band at Yale explores not only Miller’s compositional style, but also his managerial and organizational innovations that would change the way military bands do business today. Equally intriguing is the setting in which Miller, Yale’s president, the OSS, and a few Air Force generals transformed a sleepy, isolationist college into a center for the clandestine services, including the band’s ""secret"" psychological warfare recordings.

By: Bill Tortolano
Foreword by: Dennis M. Spragg
Imprint: University Press of Mississippi
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 140mm,
ISBN: 9781496862204
ISBN 10: 1496862201
Series: American Made Music Series
Pages: 172
Publication Date: 21 April 2026
Audience: Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , Undergraduate , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Bill Tortolano is a violinist and writer in the DC area. He served for over twenty years with the USAF Band, where he performed with the Airmen of Note on their ""Recreating Glenn Miller’s Army Air Forces Band"" tours. He has been a lifelong Glenn Miller fan ever since he was a student at Yale.

Reviews for Swinging Against the Axis: Glenn Miller's WWII Army Air Forces Band at Yale

No one was more qualified than Bill Tortolano--a graduate of the Yale School of Music, an Air Force Senior Master Sergeant (retired), and a professional orchestral player--to write this book. Glenn Miller's Air Force years at Yale were a little-known chapter in American music until now. This is an evocative story, engagingly told.--William Braun, New Haven Symphony principal keyboards, Hartt School of Music faculty, and Opera News contributor Swinging Against the Axis is a beautiful blend of scholarship, musical analysis, and human drama. Thanks to Bill Tortolano's tireless research, this book is essential reading for anyone who loves Glenn Miller, big band music, or WWII history.--Alan Baylock, Master Sergeant, US Air Force (Ret.) and professor at University of North Texas College of Music