Ray Miller

Miller first honed his craft during an apprenticeship with the six-piece Black And White Melody Boys in New York City, New York, USA. The ensemble appeared in multiple New York stage productions, after which Miller launched his own large dance orchestra in the early 1920s. Among its personnel were Ward Archer on drums, Charlie Rocco and Roy Johnston on trumpet, Miff Mole on trombone, Danny Yates on violin, Rube Bloom and Tommy Satterfield on piano, Louie Chasone on tuba, Frank Trumbauer, Andy Sinella, Billy Richards and Andy Sandolar on saxophone, and Frank O. Prima on banjo. Irving Kaufman, Frank Wright, Harry Maxfield and the Downe Sisters supplied vocals at different points. The orchestra quickly earned strong local regard throughout the New York region, the focus of Miller’s professional efforts, and held engagements at the New York Hippodrome, Arcadia Ballroom and Atlantic City. Its recordings appeared on Gennett, OKeh Records, Columbia Records and Brunswick Records, although the group disbanded by the early 1930s.