We had a good response yesterday when we posted the Dick Hyman video, so today we thought we would direct you to some good information about Bix and the “Thinking About Bix” album.
From our friends at Audiophile Audition:
Bix Beiderbecke of Davenport, Iowa was the first white jazz musician of note. He had minimal instruction on the piano and later mostly taught himself the cornet. He played the latter in two famous dance bands and appeared under his own name as well as in smaller aggregations. This was the Prohibition era and that was partly responsible for his succumbing to alcoholism and dying at age 28. His amazing artistry has been a beacon for numerous cornetists and trumpeters ever since, just as Charlie Parker is for saxists and Django for guitarists.
There are plenty of CDs and LPs of the original Beiderbecke recordings, and among them is one of the five unique piano solo pieces he composed and performed – In a Mist – probably the best-known of them. Although various trad-jazz pianists have recorded some of the piano pieces, this may be the first time all five of them are included, along with a dozen other tunes which Beiderbecke played or which are tied-in with the legend of Bix…Click to continue reading about this album at audaud.com