There have been several attempts to issue collections of Glenn Miller’s work, including Columbia’s 2CD set The Essential Glenn Miller from 2005, which includes the final years of the Army Air Force Band. This new, but far more comprehensive, anthology limits itself to Miller’s civilian orchestra, before he enlisted in the autumn 1942. But because the records were drip-fed to the public, the final titles here did not make the Billboard charts until 1944.

Having the tracks in (mainly) chronological order shows that some of Miller’s best-known pieces are from early in the band’s life, so ‘Moonlight Serenade’, ‘Little Brown Jug’ and ‘In The Mood’ all date from 1939, and make it clear the arrangers’ template was in place by then.

So as time goes on, the band never matches, say, the artistry of Artie Shaw’s peerless version of ‘Star Dust’, or the effortless jazzy swing of Erskine Hawkins’ ‘Tuxedo Junction’, but it stamps its distinct personality on all it does, and remains remarkably consistent. If you were a Miller fan at the time, you could buy the next record with confidence.

And the seven-year recording window of this set does show a stylistic evolution, as the rhythm section playing in particular recognises the changes going on in the big band world. Later highlights include early Billy May arrangements (‘Kalamazoo’) and star turns from the pen of Jerry Gray (‘American Patrol’ and ‘String of Pearls’). Even if Gray’s version of Verdi’s ‘Anvil Chorus’ and Larry Clinton’s take on Debussy’s ‘Reverie’ aren’t to everyone’s taste, the 121 tracks on this 5 CD collection are all you really need of the Miller civilian band. Following on from Acrobat’s previously issued collection of airshots, this will become the cornerstone of any collection of its work.