Ever hear the voice of Bix Beiderbecke?

Bix was a notorious crazy character, wasn't he?

 

this is on the mosaic bix/tram/tea set. i'm not sure how anyone knows whether that's bix talking or one of the other guys, or who is saying what, but it's cool.

i don't think the record is dreadful at all. it's kind of average i suppose. i like a lot of the records bix was on, including those paul whiteman things that always get ragged on by the jazz purists. there's a lot of interesting, creative musical things happening in those records besides the bix and tram parts. they're basically just 20s pop music and like any pop music have their high and low points.

it's hard to get a handle on just what kind of person bix was. alcoholic, certainly, but he seems to have been pretty intelligent if a little naive. he seemed to inspire legends and stories because he died so young and became a bit of a mystery, and sorting out the truth from the exaggerations and just plain made up stuff seems almost impossible. it's very rare to find anything negative written about him as a person. of course, as a musician he was incredible. there's something in his playing that reaches through the years and really touches my heart, a kind of sadness or melancholy i guess you could say.

 

The Future of Swing for sure, but it took Benny buying Fletcher Henderson and his arrangements to get them over the hump, IMHO.

 

got it on cd, will look around for the lp box set.

thanks for the postings you put up periodically on these first generation jazz masters, lest we forget.

 

The chances of Bubber being sober for this date are VERY slim. It's a fun record which reminds me of old cartoon shorts. Not too long ago, these old Bix records were cheap to pick up.

Oh, and aren't there some Broadway Bellhops takes with Bix among the singers? I'll have to look it up.

 

Bix...right from my area, Davenport!

 

I think that Henderson's car accident in 1928 was one of the biggest turning points in all of music. Before then, he had everything!

 

I've liked this record for quite a while: classic novelty song with hard-swinging instrumental sections. Bix, Bubber, and Benny...? Complete insanity! I agree with your estimation of Bix, and equally esteem Bubber: one of my favorite musicians, co-wrote Duke's breakthrough tunes and largely set the style for the early band. Also appreciate the raw, early Goodman solo here (the rhythm section really brings it to life)... Freeman's tenor solo top notch as well.

 

You're not a fan of Bob Brookmeyer?

 

Great sound from the Twenties. I think I first heard this on some vinyl of Bix. Besides the sound and the energy of the performance, I love it as an example of the humor that could be put to music in those years. It also shows the use of the jazzed-up choruses that were popular then -- hear more examples in many of the Boswell Sisters sides, often with some of the same players.

 

Must track some of this down. Bix was the first jazz music I can consciously recall, thanks to the Beiderbecke Affair trilogy, a UK comedy series from the 80s with a cracking soundtrack: linky

 

There are many ways to check out Bix, but if you really haven't any and you want to get some of the best from Bix and two other jazz masters (and many more, the two others are just the other two leaders in the title), this is an excellent document as far as notation, mastering and material:

http://www.mosaicrecords.com/prodinfo.asp?number=211-MD-CD

 

also the best sound quality i've ever heard on this material.

 

Bix's "Barnacle Bill The Sailor" was on the old 12" "RCA's Encylopedia Of Jazz" Lp series issued in the '50's..I'd actually had that..it was "Cleaned Up" from what I'd heard on it...the word "S---Head" was changed to "Sailor"..was this a different take,or was this the first Edit ever made by RCA? I wonder!

 

Like Berigan, Beiderbecke died of acute Pneumonia too young..the added fact they also played Trumpet too is a similar factoid between them..and equally creepy,too.

 

If I want to buy some Bix Beiderdecke on CD, what would be a recommended source for good transfers?

 

I was thinking the same thing.

I have a few Victor 78's, but they are later recuts that look like this:

 

How about this compilation?

 

This one looked interesting. Anybody heard it already?

http://www.retrospective-records.co.uk/cgi-bin/retro_build.pl?filename=RTS4154.txt

From the website:

Launched in October with 25 releases this new label is managed by veteran nostalgia specialist Ray Crick, who is tasked with sourcing the highest quality transfers, plus detailed biographies and informative notes for the booklets. "I am delighted to be involved with RETROSPECTIVE because it gives me the chance to create CD programmes that will bring alive the finest recordings by those wonderful vintage entertainers of yesteryear, both popular and jazz, for people to enjoy here and now. We will be adding new releases every month and will deliver you the finest performers from the music hall to jugbands to rock ‘n’ roll! We hope you will enjoy these wonderful recordings alongside detailed booklet notes and the iconic series design, making RETROSPECTIVE a highly collectable range."

 

Doing a bit of quick research, the extensive "Bix Restored" discs, remastered by the late John R.T. Davies, appear to get a lot of love. They're definitely thorough.

Columbia released four volumes of Bix during their purple-border Jazz Masterpieces 1980's-90's era, beware of overcooked NR.

There's also The Complete OKeh/Brunswick Bix, Trumbauer & Teagarden Mosaic set that looks interesting.

 

That Mosaic box is just too much and too pricey for me.

Also, the "Bix Restored" series is very pricey as well.

There is the Bix & Tram box set on JSP which gets a lot of good reviews, I might get that one.