Center for Black Music Research
Personal papers and manuscr... Paul Eduard Miller papers Finding Aid, or Guide to the CollectionTitle: Paul Eduard Miller papers, 1934-1950
ID: 1000/MILL_1012
Primary Creator: Miller, Paul E. (1903-)
Extent: 10.0 Boxes. More info below.
Date Acquired: 00/00/1995. More info below under Accruals.
The Paul Eduard Miller papers consist of typescripts of his published and unpublished writings, including Down Beat’s Yearbook of Swing (1938), his own Miller’s Yearbook of Popular Music (1943) and the Esquire Jazz Book for 1944 and 1946. In addition there are versions of Miller’s attempts to write a canon-defining book on jazz: “Testimonial to Jazz,” (1936) and a later undated typescript “The Best Jazz” in which Miller discusses and rates musicians and recordings. Also present are radio scripts for his radio program “This Is Jazz” on WXRT-FM for the year 1948, and playlists for “This Is Jazz” and “Classics of Jazz” for January–June 1950. Other materials donated include photographs, sound recordings, a small amount of early 20th century sheet music, and copies of his publications.
The collection of photographs is fairly substantial, dating from circa 1907 to 1955, and undated, with the bulk dated from the mid-1940s. The analog sound recordings, including 78s, 45s and 33-1/3 LPs, focus on earlier jazz performers; of particular interest are the 1946–1947 Sidney Bechet recordings.
Paul Eduard Miller, (1902–1972) was a jazz critic and journalist. He began writing for Down Beat in the 1930s, eventually becoming a contributing editor, and he edited their jazz yearbook in 1939. From November 1940 until August 1941, he served as editor of a side publication called Music and Rhythm, with many of the regular Down Beat writers contributing. From 1944 to 1947 he was the jazz editor of Esquire and edited Esquire’s immensely popular jazz yearbooks, publishing his own Yearbook of Popular Music in 1943. In the late 1940s and early 1950s he hosted a radio show on Friday and Saturday nights on WXRT-FM in Chicago called “This is Jazz.”
Miller seems to have preferred traditional jazz, and had great respect for New Orleans jazzman Sidney Bechet in particular. Miller apparently never lost an opportunity to praise Bechet’s musicianship in print and repeatedly named the reed player to his all-star roster in Esquire’s Jazz Book, including a double mention in 1946. In 1946 and 1947 Miller presented Bechet in a series of concerts at Kimball Hall in Chicago. He also entertained Bechet at his home on several occasions during the 1940s.
Miller wrote an ambitious critical study entitled “The Best Jazz” which was never published.
Repository: Center for Black Music Research
Alternate Extent Statement: 10 boxes, 1 volume
Access Restrictions: None
Use Restrictions: None
Physical Access Note: Includes photographs (1907(?)-1955), sound recordings (78s, 45s and 33-1/3 LPs)
Acquisition Source: Bonnie Miller Barnes
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