ain't none of them played like him yet

This page is dedicated to cornetist and pianist Leon "Bix" Beiderbecke. An important early figure of jazz, noted for his unique style, Bix played with numerous bands including Paul Whiteman's Orchestra and Frankie Trumbauer's Orchestra. His recordings with Frankie "Tram" Trumbauer are among his best such as "Singin' the Blues" and "Riverboat Shuffle." However Bix's life was cut much too short when he died at the young age of 28 in 1931.

[bixbeiderbecke]

Multiple misidentifications in group shot posted June 2012. Taken outside Southboro, MA home used by band during 1926 Goldkette New England tour. Bix is at far end, kneeling, holding neck of Steve Brown's bass. Tommy Dorsey wasn't on this tour. You got Don Murray right.

I apologize for the misidentification. I had reblogged that photo from a different user and at the time I remember us conversing about it because our books had different information (I believe my book said that Bix was the one holding Brown's bass). 

I would make the change but quite honestly not many people on this website follow the blog nor know who Bix is. As for myself, I have decided to leave Tumblr thus will no longer be updating the page.

But thank you so much. Now my friend and I know which book is correct in its identification.

[bixbeiderbecke]

A few quotes about Bix:

"Bix had an independent side even as a toddler. As soon as he could walk he’d waddle outside and make his way to the "street car" tracks. He’d sit in the middle of the tracks and the conductor, Mr. Musselmann, who quickly learned where he belonged, would pick him up and send him home with one of the neighborhood children who would be rewarded with a nickel. I’ve often wondered what the attraction was for him. Maybe the hum of the tracks, or the vibration attracted him. Even then the lad heard what the rest of us missed." - Burnie Beiderbecke 

Bix could never understand the fawning groups that accosted him and asked about certain breaks or choruses he had taken. You know how pessessive someone feels about an artist they have worshiped on record and then they actually meet him? Bix was utterly confused about what they were talking about when referring to a chorus he had taken. Bix didn't play that way. He played inspirationally, as the moment dictated. That's the whole point of his genius!" - Richardson Turner

"Bix lived at the Billinghurst. Bix went to sleep with a quart on his dresser, and his pants thrown carelessly across the chair. One night, someone tried to reach in his window to steal the pants, wallet, etc. Bix woke up in time to bean him over the head with the quart. After the police took care of the situation, Bix was sore because he had lost all of the quart." - Steve Brown 

"Bix was quiet spoken and very sweet." - Victor C. Smith

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[bixbeiderbecke]

Happy Valentine's Day from Bix!

Thank you amodernmusketeer for sharing!

[decadent-hag]

Milvertons’ Jazz Favourites — 6 / 35 → Bix Beiderbecke

Leon Bismarck “Bix” Beiderbecke was a cornetist popular in the Dixieland jazz era. He worked with many other greats of that era, most notably the Paul Whitman orchestra. At the time, Beiderbecke’s sound was very unique and many contribute that to the fact that he was self-taught-which provided room for different fingering techniques. Along with Louis Armstrong, he is among the first of the jazz soloists and a massive influence in the genre. Unfortunately, he died in 1931 at the very young at the age of 28, of lobar pneumonia, an illness which many believe stemmed from alcoholism. What I love most about Beiderbecke was his tone. He stayed mostly in the middle range, rarely going too high or too low. It makes for tunes that satisfy my need for some early jazz without that often wild and frantic sound of the 20s, which sometimes, I’m just not in the mood for. 

Listen: 1. For No Reason at All in C 2. At the Jazz Band Ball 3. Sorry

[labelleboheme]

“One of the things I like about jazz, kid, is I don’t know what’s going to happen next. Do you?”

[labelleboheme]

Happy birthday, Leon Bix Beiderbecke! | March 10, 1903 — August 6, 1931

[labelleboheme]

favorite friendships —> Bix Beiderbecke and Frank Trumbauer

“Finally the telephone call came,” said [Andy] Secrest. “The one that we never wanted to receive…

When Paul [Whiteman] gave us the news [of Bix’s death], Tram went out back. I didn’t know whether to leave him alone, or whether he needed comfort, but I elected to go out and see if he was all right. All Tram could do was ask, ‘Andy, why didn’t Bix call? I’ve always been there for him. Why didn’t he call?’ Of course, I did not have any answer. No one did.”

[themelodicword]

Jazz Masters of the 1920s // Bix Beiderbecke

Fidgety Feet | The Wolverine Orchestra Jazz Me Blues | The Wolverine Orchestra Big Boy | The Wolverine Orchestra Davenport Blues | Bix Beiderbecke and His Rhythm Jugglers Singin’ The Blues | Frank Trumbauer and his Orchestra I’m Comin’ Virginia | Frank Trumbauer and his Orchestra In A Mist | Bix Beiderbecke Humpty Dumpty | Frank Trumbauer and his Orchestra Krazy Kat | Frank Trumbauer and his Orchestra At the Jazz Band Ball | Bix and His Gang Sorry | Bix and His Gang Washboard Blues | Paul Whiteman w/ Hoagy Carmichael and Bix Beiderbecke

LISTEN // DOWNLOAD // about the recordings

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Logo from the failed attempt at producing a musical about Hoagy Carmichael and Bix Beiderbecke. It was on a card in a copy of Sometimes I Wonder issued shortly after Hoagy’s death, and both are signed by his son Hoagy B. (for Bix) Carmichael.

[bixbeiderbecke]

"Bix, at full growth, was 5 feet 10 inches. Really well built, with auburn hair, brown eyes, and a straight nose. He weighed in the area of 170 pounds."

- Charles "Burnie" Beiderbecke

[labelleboheme]

“In jazz the unconscious describes itself almost in its own terms.

Though we find it in a certain number of the conventional artistic emotions —

the moods of Ellington the conscious beauty of Beiderbecke the romanticism of Armstrong

— if we move nearer to the centre of the music we discover stranger qualities:

the pure confidence of Frank Teschemacher the cantabile of Sidney Bechet and the elemental, dancing gaiety of Pee Wee Russell.”

— Philip Larken

[bixbeiderbecke]

Bix and Ed Meikel canoeing at White Lake, Michigan; c. July 1922.

[mariettecolet]

Capture of The Jean Goldkette Band from the Paul Mertz footage. {L to R} Frank Trumbauer (standing with a coat over his arm), Irving Riskin, Ray Lodwig, Doc Ryker, Don Murray (in front of Doc), Spiegle Willcox, Bix Beiderbecke, unknown, Steve Brown, Fred Farrar. (Standing on the groud) Chauncey Morehouse, Howdy Quicksell. 

[theodorafitzgerald-deactivated2]

[Bix] was now living in a one hotel room with Red Nichols and Alfie Evans…Alfie Evans remembered the way Bix used to wake up: “In the morning, Bix would sit on the edge of the bed, swing his legs a few times. Then he would reach for a barrel-shaped glass that he had in his suitcase. He’d pour four healthy ounces of gin, drink it ‘as is,’ and say that he had drunk his daily ‘orange juice.’ He’d splash some water on his face, comb his hair, and was ready for a new day.”

Alfie Evans (from Bix: The Definitive Biography of a Jazz Legend by Jean Pierre Lion)

[bixbeiderbecke]

Good evening! I am still grappling with the ins and outs of tumblr, though in the process I did find your kindly welcome. Many thanks. All that is left to say in this second message is the following: Steamboat Bill Jr.'s remark under the newly posted Bix Beiderbeck portrait is a masterstroke. Until later, all the best. Graham

Hello and welcome!

Why thank you so much! What a lovely message to be greeted to!

It is, isn't it? It is actually the last line in the epilogue of Jean Pierre Lion's book Bix: The Definitive Biography of a Jazz Legend. Quite stunning.

Once again thank you so much and I hope you enjoy this page and Tumblr in general!

[deforest]

“Bix remains a long-lost, pain-burdened friend, as elusive today as he was for his contemporaries, among whom he passed like a dream.”

[bixbeiderbecke]

The Jean Goldkette Orchestra in Atlantic City; August 1927.

{L to R} Lloyd Turner, Cork O'Keefe, Don Murray, Howdy Quicksell, Frank Trumbauer, Joe Venuti, Bix Beiderbecke, Ray Lodwig, and Chauncey Morehouse.

[bixbeiderbecke]

Ray Lodwig, Don Murray, Eddy Sheasby, and Howdy Quicksell on the beach in Atlantic City (left to right); c. August 1927.