Eddie Miller; Jazz Woodwind Veteran

Eddie Miller, a saxophonist-clarinetist praised for his melodic tone who played in some of the nation’s best-known jazz bands, died Monday in a Van Nuys hospital.

He was 79 and died of pneumonia, said his daughter, Diane Thornton.

A composer who recorded his best-known work, “Slow Mood,” with Bob Crosby’s Bob Cats, Miller toured Europe with the World’s Greatest Jazz Band and played with Pete Fountain for 10 years.

He came to Crosby’s band in 1935 after two years with Ben Pollack, playing on such evergreen Bob Cat recordings as “South Rampart Street Parade.”

Born Edward Raymond Muller, his interest in music dated from his early teens when he sold newspapers in his native New Orleans to be eligible for a newsboys’ band.

Besides his daughter he is survived by his wife, Edna; a son, Edward; a sister and four grandchildren.