| Bix Beiderbecke | |
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 Bix Beiderbecke in 1924
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Leon Bismark Beiderbecke |
| Born | March 10, 1903 |
| Origin | Davenport, Iowa,[1] U.S. |
| Died | August 6, 1931 (aged 28) |
| Genre(s) | Jazz Dixieland |
| Occupation(s) | Musician composer |
| Instrument(s) | Cornet, Piano |
| Years active | 1924-1931 |
| Website | bixbeiderbecke.com |
Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, and composer, as well as a skilled classical and jazz pianist. Events 241 BC - First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates Islands - The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing Year 1903 ( MCMIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar or a Common year starting Davenport is a City along the Mississippi River in the American state of Iowa. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 1538 - Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada. Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States Dixieland or Dixie is a name for the southeastern portion of the USA; see Southern United States, Dixie. A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. Events 241 BC - First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates Islands - The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing Year 1903 ( MCMIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar or a Common year starting Events 1538 - Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada. Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States The cornet is a Brass instrument very similar to the Trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape and mellower tone quality Jazz piano has been an integral part of the Jazz idiom since its inception in both solo and ensemble settings
One of the leading names in '20s jazz, Beiderbecke's career was cut short by chronic poor health, exacerbated by his alcoholism. Alcoholism is a term with multiple and sometimes conflicting definitions Critic Scott Yanow describes Beiderbecke as the "[p]ossessor of a beautiful, distinctive tone and a strikingly original improvising style, Beiderbecke's only competitor among cornetists in the '20s was Louis Armstrong but (due to their different sounds and styles) one really could not compare them. In Music, timbre (ˈtæm-bər' like timber, or, from Fr timbre tɛ̃bʁ is the quality of a Musical note or sound that distinguishes different Musical Improvisation is the creative activity of immediate Musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental Louis Armstrong (August 4 1901 &ndash July 6 1971 nicknamed Satchmo or Sachimo and Pops, was an American Jazz Trumpeter "[2]
Contents |
Biography
Early life
Beiderbecke was born in Davenport, Iowa[1] to a middle-class family of German origins. Davenport is a City along the Mississippi River in the American state of Iowa. The German people (Deutsche are an Ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common German culture, descent and speaking the German language as As a teenager he would sneak off to the banks of the Mississippi to listen to bands play on the riverboats coming from the south. The Mississippi River is the second longest River in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to A riverboat is Ship designed for Inland navigation. These vessels are usually less sturdy than ships built for the open seas with limited navigational and
Illness often kept Beiderbecke out of school, and his grades suffered. He attended Davenport High School briefly, but his parents felt that sending him to the exclusive Lake Forest Academy just north of Chicago in Lake Forest, Illinois, as a boarding student would provide him with both the necessary faculty attention and discipline to improve his academic schooling. Davenport Central High School (founded 1904 under the name Davenport High School is a four-year High school in Davenport, Iowa. Lake Forest Academy is a private boarding and Day school for grades 9 through 12 located on the North Shore in Lake Forest, Illinois Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Lake Forest is a city known for its affluence located in Lake County, Illinois, United States.
The change of scenery did not improve Beiderbecke's academic record, as the only subjects in which he showed avid interest were music and sports. Bix soon began going into Chicago often to catch the hot jazz bands at the clubs and speakeasies around Chicago, and often he did not return to his dormitory before curfew or was still off-campus the next day. A speakeasy was an establishment that surreptitiously sold Alcoholic beverages during the period of United States history known as Prohibition (1920-1933 A curfew can be one of the following An order by a Government for certain persons to return home daily before a certain time
Beiderbecke was asked to leave the academy due to his academic failings and extracurricular activities in Chicago, and with his time now free he began his musical career.
Career
Beiderbecke first recorded with his band the Wolverine Orchestra (usually called just The Wolverines, named for "Wolverine Blues" by Jelly Roll Morton because they played it so often) in 1924, then became a sought-after musician in Chicago and New York City. Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton ( ca September 20, 1885 or October 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941) was an The City of New York He made innovative and influential recordings with Frankie Trumbauer ("Tram") and the Jean Goldkette Orchestra. Frankie (Tram Trumbauer ( 30 May 1901 &ndash 11 June 1956) was one of the leading Jazz Saxophonists of the 1920s and 1930s John Jean Goldkette ( 18 March, 1893 &ndash March 24, 1962) was a Jazz Pianist and Bandleader born in Patras When the Goldkette Orchestra disbanded after their last recording ("Clementine (From New Orleans)"), in September 1927, Bix and Trumbauer, a 'C' Melody and alto saxophone player, briefly joined Adrian Rollini's band at the Club New Yorker, New York, before moving on to the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, the most popular and highest paid band of the day. Adrian Francis Rollini ( June 28 1903 - May 15 1956) was a multi-instrumentalist best known for his Jazz music. Paul Whiteman ( March 28, 1890 &ndash December 29, 1967) was an American orchestral
Beiderbecke also played piano, sometimes switching from cornet for a chorus or two during a song (e. The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers g. , "For No Reason at All in C", 1927). He wrote several compositions for the piano, and recorded one of them, "In a Mist" (after it was transcribed from his improvisations by the Goldkette/Whiteman arranger Bill Challis). His piano compositions include "In A Mist", "Flashes", "In The Dark" and "Candlelights. " These were later recorded by (amongst others) Jess Stacy, Bunny Berigan, Jimmy and Marian McPartland, Dill Jones and Ralph Sutton. Jess Stacy ( August 11, 1904 – January 1, 1995) was an American jazz pianist who became famous during the Swing Era Rowland Bernard "Bunny" Berigan ( November 2 1908 - June 2, 1942) was an American Jazz Trumpeter Jimmy McPartland (James Dugald McPartland ( March 15 1907, Chicago, Illinois &ndash March 13, 1991, Port Washington Marian McPartland (b March 20, 1918) born Margaret Marian Turner in Slough England, is a Jazz Pianist, Composer Dillwyn Owen Paton Jones, or Dill Jones ( 19 August 1923 - 22 June 1984) was a Welsh Jazz Stride pianist Ralph Earl Sutton ( 4 November 1922 &ndash 30 December, 2001) was an American Jazz pianist born in Hamburg Missouri
In 1962, long after his death, Beiderbecke was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame. Down Beat is an American Magazine devoted to "jazz blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively
Death
Beiderbecke had suffered health problems from an early age and his health declined further in his adult years. He toured relentlessly, and consumed excessive alcohol, much of it low quality, and often somewhat poisonous, Prohibition Era alcohol. In the context of Biology, poisons are substances that can cause damage, Illness, or Death to Organisms usually by In the United States, the term Prohibition refers to the period from 1920 to 1933 during which the sale manufacture and transportation of alcohol for consumption As a result, his stage performances began to suffer. Bandleader Paul Whiteman and his musicians were frustrated with Beiderbecke's behavior; another trumpet player famously wrote the reminder "Wake up Bix" shortly before Beiderbecke's solo on a sheet music transcript. Paul Whiteman ( March 28, 1890 &ndash December 29, 1967) was an American orchestral Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of Musical notation; like its analogs -- books pamphlets etc
His spirits also suffered due to declining work around the New York City area. In 1929 bandleader Paul Whiteman sent Beiderbecke back home to Davenport, Iowa, to recover from a breakdown (caused by alcoholism, related physical problems and the stress of touring). Paul Whiteman ( March 28, 1890 &ndash December 29, 1967) was an American orchestral His treatment was initially successful, but failed later. During this recuperation period, he discovered in his parents' home a cabinet full of all his phonograph records he sent back home for his parents--all unplayed, after pleading for his parents' respect and recognition through his letters. In an interview in Episode 3 of Jazz, Richard Sudhalter noted that while his mother was slightly supportive, his father was not. Bix was cutting an increasingly sad figure, and while he played intermittently over the next two years, when he was well enough to travel, neither he nor his playing was ever the same.
In late July or early August 1931, he took up residence at 43-30 46th Street, Sunnyside, Queens, New York City, where he went on his last drinking binge. He died in his Queens apartment alone on August 6, 1931, just 28 years old. Events 1538 - Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada. Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. While the official cause of his death was "lobar pneumonia" and "brain edema", Beiderbecke actually died of an alcoholic seizure during delirium tremens. Pneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the Lung. Frequently it is described as lung Parenchyma / alveolar inflammation and abnormal Cerebral edema (cerebral oedema in British English) is an excess accumulation of water in the intracellular and/or extracellular spaces of the Brain. Delirium tremens (colloquially the DTs, " the horrors " " the fear "" the shakes "" jazz hands ""
The production of bathtub gin was tremendous during Prohibition and continued widely until the Repeal of Prohibition some 18 months after Bix's death (or until practical enforcement of Prohibition laws stopped before the official time that the 21st Amendment went into effect), so up to the time that Bix went on his final bender he very likely drank large quantities of bathtub gin with Rotgut properties, since the most readily available alcohol at that time was illegal spirits, as opposed to industrial spirits that were illegally imported. This article discusses the repeal of (alcohol Prohibition in the United States. Binge drinking is drinking certain beverages with the intention of becoming intoxicated
Beiderbecke is buried in a family plot in Oakdale Cemetery in Davenport, Iowa. Although his penchant for imbibing was legendary, tales of the examining coroner getting drunk from the alcohol fumes are apocryphal.
Influences
Beiderbecke's early influences were mostly New Orleans jazz cornetists. New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana His first big influence was Nick LaRocca of the Original Dixieland Jass Band; the LaRocca influence is evident in a number of Beiderbecke's recordings (especially the covers of O. Dominic James "Nick" La Rocca (born April 11, 1889 in New Orleans Louisiana &ndash died February 22 1961 in Original Dixieland Jass Band (ODJB was a New Orleans band that made the first Jazz recording in 1917 In Popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition ( Performance or Recording) of a previously recorded commercially released D. J. B. songs. ) Other influences included Joe "King" Oliver, Louis Armstrong, and clarinetist Leon Roppolo. Joe "King" Oliver, ( December 19, 1885 &ndash April 10, 1938) was a Jazz Cornet player and Bandleader Louis Armstrong (August 4 1901 &ndash July 6 1971 nicknamed Satchmo or Sachimo and Pops, was an American Jazz Trumpeter The clarinet is a Musical instrument in the Woodwind family The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word Leon Roppolo ( March 16, 1902 &ndash October 5, 1943) was a prominent early Jazz Clarinetist, best known for his playing The influence of older New Orleans players such as Freddie Keppard shows up on Beiderbecke's famous two note interjection on "Goose Pimples. Freddie Keppard (sometimes rendered as Freddy Keppard) ( February 27, 1890 - July 15, 1933) was an early Jazz Cornetist "
According to many contemporaries Beiderbecke's single biggest influence was Emmett Hardy, a highly regarded New Orleans cornetist of whom there are no extant recordings; several fellow musicians said that Hardy's influence is very evident in Beiderbecke's early recordings with The Wolverines. Emmett Louis Hardy ( June 12, 1903 &ndash June 16, 1925) was an early Jazz Cornet player and one of the best regarded The Wolverines (also Wolverine Orchestra, Wolverines Orchestra, The Original Wolverines) were an American Jazz band New Orleans drummer Ray Bauduc heard Hardy playing in the early 1920s and said that he was even more inspired than Beiderbecke. Ray Bauduc (1906-1988 was a hugely popular and influential New Orleans-born jazz drummer best known for his work with the Bob Crosby Orchestra and their band-within-a-band
Bix was also influenced by music that had hitherto been far removed from jazz, such as the compositions of Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, and the American Impressionists, notably Eastwood Lane. Achille-Claude Debussy (aʃil klod dəbysi (August 22 1862 &ndash March 25 1918 was a French Composer. The impressionist movement in music was a movement in European Classical music, mainly in France that began in the late nineteenth century and continued into the middle Eastwood Lane ( May 22, 1879 - January 22, 1951) was an American Composer who wrote Piano suites impressionist
Such influences aside, Bix is remembered today for the fact that he played like no one else. Bix developed his own individualistic style of jazz cornet playing, which was unlike his predecessors and influenced those who followed. As Louis Armstrong said, "Lots of cats tried to play like Bix; ain't none of them play like him yet".
Influence on later musicians
Louis Armstrong once remarked that he never played the tune "Singin' the Blues" because he thought Beiderbecke's classic recording of the song should not be touched. Louis Armstrong (August 4 1901 &ndash July 6 1971 nicknamed Satchmo or Sachimo and Pops, was an American Jazz Trumpeter
The character Rick Martin in the novel Young Man With A Horn (1938) by Dorothy Baker is partly based on Beiderbecke's life. Young Man with a Horn is a 1938 Novel by Dorothy Baker that is loosely based on the real life of Jazz Trumpet player Dorothy Baker ( April 21, 1907 &ndash June 17, 1968) was an American Novelist. It was later made into a movie (1950) starring Kirk Douglas as Martin (with horn playing dubbed by Harry James after first choice Bobby Hackett -- according to some sources -- blew the job because of unreliability). Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, Harry James ( March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American Musician and Band leader, and a well-known Robert Leo "Bobby" Hackett ( January 31, 1915 - June 7, 1976) was a Jazz musician who played Trumpet, It was later parodied in the BBC radio series Round The Horne as "Young Horne With a Man", featuring "Bix Spiderthrust". Round the Horne was one of the most influential BBC Radio Comedy programmes comparable to The Goon Show in its influence on other The most obviously Bix-influenced follower was cornetist Jimmy McPartland, who replaced Bix in the 'Wolverine' Orchestra in late 1924, and continued to pay tribute to Bix throughout his long career (McPartland died in 1991). Jimmy McPartland (James Dugald McPartland ( March 15 1907, Chicago, Illinois &ndash March 13, 1991, Port Washington Bix's influence was most noticeable amongst white musicians, but there were also black players who fell under his spell, notably trumpeters and cornetists John Nesbitt (of McKinney's Cotton Pickers), Rex Stewart (Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra, Duke Ellington's Orchestra), and Doc Cheatham (Cab Calloway's Orchestra). John Nesbitt may refer to John Nesbitt (rapper, the real name of gangsta rapper "Johnny Crack" John Nesbitt (Manitoba politician McKinney's Cotton Pickers were a United States Jazz band founded in Detroit in 1926 by William McKinney, who expanded his Synco Septet to ten Rex Stewart ( 22 February 1907 &ndash 7 September 1967) was an American Jazz Cornetist best known for his work Fletcher Hamilton Henderson Jr ( December 18, 1897 &ndash December 28, 1952) was an American pianist bandleader Arranger Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29 1899 &ndash May 24 1974 was an American Composer, Pianist, and Bandleader. Adolphus Anthony Cheatham, much better known as Doc Cheatham ( 13 June, 1905 &ndash 2 June, 1997) was a Jazz Trumpeter Cabell "Cab" Calloway III ( December 25, 1907 &ndash November 18, 1994) was a famous American Jazz Singer
In the 1930s Bobby Hackett was widely billed as the "new Bix", especially after he reprised Bix's "I'm Coming Virginia" solo at Benny Goodman's famous 1938 Carnegie Hall concert. Robert Leo "Bobby" Hackett ( January 31, 1915 - June 7, 1976) was a Jazz musician who played Trumpet, Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Carnegie Hall (generally ˌkɑrnɨgi ˈhɔːl is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east
Later Bix-influenced trumpet/cornet players have included: Ruby Braff, Dick Sudhalter, Warren Vache, Randy Sandke, Ralph Norton and Tom Pletcher. Reuben "Ruby" Braff ( March 16, 1927 &ndash February 9, 2003) was an American jazz Trumpeter and Cornetist Richard M Sudhalter ( December 28, 1938 - September 19, 2008) was an American Jazz Trumpeter Scholar, critic Warren Vaché (born February 21, 1951) is a jazz Trumpeter, Cornetist and Flugelhornist born in Rahway New Jersey. Randy Sandke (born 1949 in Chicago) is a Jazz Trumpeter and Guitarist In an interview with Larry Kart he said "I
Miles Davis was fascinated by Bix's playing, and sought out people who had known and played with him. Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26 1926 &ndash September 28 1991 was an American Jazz Trumpeter, Bandleader, and Composer. Miles's silvery tone and understated, "cool" phrasing clearly hark back to one aspect of Bix's playing.
Beiderbecke's music features heavily in three British comedy-drama television series, all written by Alan Plater: The Beiderbecke Affair (1984), The Beiderbecke Tapes (1987) and The Beiderbecke Connection (1988). The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Alan Frederick Plater CBE (born 15 April 1935 is an English Playwright and Screenwriter, who has worked extensively in British television from The Beiderbecke Affair is a Television series produced in the UK by ITV during 1985 written by the prolific Alan Plater, whose
Name
There has been much debate regarding the full name of Bix Beiderbecke: was he baptized Leon Bix or Leon Bismark (Bix being a shortened form of the latter; a name that also his father had). From the early 1960s onwards, Bix's living relatives (notably his brother Charles "Burnie" Beiderbecke) forcefully claimed that his actual name had always been Leon Bix, and this was accepted as a fact by Bix researchers Phil and Linda Evans. Other researchers, including Rich Johnson have presented documents showing the real name to be Leon Bismark. These include church records from the Early First Presbyterian Church to which the family belonged, and records from Tyler School which Bix attended. Presbyterianism is a family of Christian denominations within the Reformed branch of Protestant Western Christianity There is also the will of a relative, Mary Hill, which included young Bix as a beneficiary, which his mother signed for him writing "Leon Bismark Beiderbecke". There are indications that Bix at an early age disliked the name Bismark. For example: in a letter to his mother when he was nine (1912) he signs it "frome [sic] your Leon Bix Beiderbecke not Bismark Remeber [sic]" (this letter is reprinted in Evans & Evans pp 28-29). Also, the German name may have been a bit uncomfortable during and after World War I, which might explain the Beiderbecke family wishing to claim Bix as the real name. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All
Honors
He was inducted into the Gennett Records Walk of Fame in Richmond, Indiana in 2007. Gennett (pronounced with a soft G) was a United States based Record label which flourished in the 1920s. Richmond (ˈrɪtʃmənd is a city in Wayne Township, Wayne County, in east central Indiana, which borders Ohio.
References
- ^ a b Bix Beiderbecke. Quad City Memory. Retrieved on 2008-01-18. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 350 - Generallus Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor
- ^ http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll
- Bix: Man and Legend by Richard M. Sudhalter & Philip R. Evens (Quartet; 1974).
- Bix: The Definitive Biography of a Jazz Legend by Jean Pierre Lion with the assistance of Gabriella Page-Fort, Michael B. Heckman and Norman Field (Continuum, New York / London; 2004).
- "Our Language. " Episode 3, Jazz (television miniseries) by Ken Burns. (PBS Home Video/Warner Home Video; 2001).
- Red Hot Jazz.com
External links
- Bix Beiderbecke Resources: A Bixography
- Bix Beiderbecke Resources: A Creative Aural History Thesis - A series of nineteen one-half-hour radio programs from 1971. Includes interviews with Frank Trumbauer, Louis Armstrong, Gene Krupa, Eddie Condon, Bing Crosby and Bix' brother
- The Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Society, Davenport, Iowa
- Davenport Blues - An mp3 of Beiderbecke's first recording under his own name.
- "Celebrating Bix" - A tribute album created to commemorate the centenary of Bix's birth by some of the world's finest traditional jazz musicians.
- "Bixology" (an excerpt) by Brendan Wolfe, Jazz.com.
- "Twelve Essential Bix Beiderbecke Performances" by Brendan Wolfe, Jazz.com.
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