Big Miller discusses his influences as a young man.

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Big Miller discusses the 'geniuses' of jazz.

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Big Miller discusses the blues.

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Q: “Who was around when you were a kid and who did you hear?”

A: Big Miller: “Oh, we were shining shoes. I was shining shoes when Joe Turner was tending bar on 18th Drive.

Interviewer: Pete Johnson was the band...

Big Miller: Pete Johnson was the band on an old piano and I was a kid shining shoes around there. People like Fine Top, Louis and Adam Ketz, they were are all in town. Ben Webster and Coleman Hawkins played a session one time for about 72 hours and they played a session with Turner, you know, with Loren, Dan 00:00:26.812 [inaudible]. Well, this is a prime thing to do at that time, blue-outs they called them. We had blue Monday parties and every Monday, there would be a big party starting at seven o'clock in the morning or six in the morning at some cafe or some place. The band played all day and cleared about four o'clock at night. Blue Monday and they serve chitterlings with cornbread or either barbecue and red beans and rice and cornbread and butter melt. This was a blue Monday party. They would sew ’em up from Sunday and Saturday and Sunday, you see. This happened in Kansas City for a long time. Everybody did have a blue Monday parties.”