Events in Celebration of Bix’s Musical Legacy
Every year, several organizations pay homage to Bix’s musical genius and legacy. The Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Society celebrates Bix’s music with the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival. Phil Pospychala honors Bix’s legacy by organizing his Tribute to Bix. The Davenport Public Library throws a Bix Birthday Bash. Radio stations devote part or all of their programming on Bix’s birthday to his music.
The Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival
The Festival takes place every year during July. The festivals began in 1972 and have taken place every year without interruption, even in 1995, the year of the big floods in the Midwest. (LeClaire Park, one of the main venues of the festival, is located on the banks of the Mighty Mississippi and was underwater). Several bands and hundreds of fans from all over the world gather to keep the memory of Bix alive and to celebrate his musical contributions to jazz. The bands play in three venues, two of them indoors – the Col Ballroom and the Davenport Holiday Inn – and one outdoors – LeClaire Park. On Saturday morning – and in my opinion, this is the climax of the Festival – there is a musical tribute in Oakdale Cemetery, at Bix’s grave site. The 2000 Festival will take place July 20-23.
Tribute to Bix
Every year since 1990, during the weekend in March nearest to Bix’s birthday, Phil Pospychala and his gang present a four-day Tribute to Bix. The event takes place in Libertyville, Illinois, and consists of live bands playing music related to Bix, a Bix seminar, sales and displays of Bix’s records and memorabilia, rare jazz films by Ken Crawford, a mystery record contest, and special events. One such special event in 1991 was an Okeh record battle between Bix and His Gang and Armstrong’s Hot Five & Seven; this was patterned after the famous 1926 Goldkette-Henderson battle of the bands at the Roseland Ballroom. The event was so successful, that the next year a battle was staged between the “Jean Goldkette” (Ralph Norton’s Varsity Ramblers) and “Clarence Williams” (Roland Pilz’s Jazz O’Maniacs from Hamburg, Germany) Orchestras. Among the bands that have performed in the past are Ralph Norton’s Varsity Ramblers, Lino Patruno and His Bix Sound (from Italy), and Don Gibson’s Original Sons of Bix. For 1999, the theme of the Tribute is the Original Dixieland Jazz Band.
Tribute to Bix – 2000
Tribute to Bix – 2002
Tribute to Bix – 2006
Annual Bix Birthday Bash
Since 1995, every March 10, the Davenport Public Library celebrates Bix’s birthday. The event is sponsored by the Davenport Public Library, the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Society, and the FRIENDS of the Davenport Public Library. For the 1999 celebration, there will be music by The Riverboaters Jazz Band with Manny Lopez playing Bix’s horn (on loan from the Putnam Museum), and David R. Collins will have his book “Bix Beiderbecke: Jazz Age Genius” available for autographing.
24-Hour Birthday
Tribute on WKCR. Every year for the last 30 years, on March 10 (Bix was born on March 10, 1903), Phil Schaap, the erudite jazz expert from the radio station of Columbia University, paid tribute to Bix Beiderbecke’s musical genius. Phil devotes 24 hours of the programming of WKCR to playing the complete recordings of Bix. In addition, he selects a theme and discusses it in depth. For example, in the last tribute (1999), Phil discussed in depth Bix’s recordings of 1930. He made the very important point, that the 1930 recordings are not those of a “down and out” Bix, but those of a Bix who was evolving and attaining new heights of creativity.
Yearly Birthday Tribute on KCSM
For the past several years, on Sunday nearest to Bix’s birth date of March 10, Richard Hadlock has paid tribute to Bix Beiderbecke’s musical genius in his radio program “The Annals of Jazz”. Richard Hadlock is a distinguished jazz writer and musician. He wrote the classic work “Jazz Masters of the ‘Twenties” and has played clarinet and soprano sax with such great musicians as Turk Murphy, Kid Ory, Maxine Sullivan, Mugsy Spanier, and many more. Currently, he plays with various San Francisco Bay Area groups. Richard Hadlock studied with the legendary Sidney Bechet. Richard is one of the founders of the Worshippers of Bix. Richard just completed writing the liner notes for a set of eight CDs with music by the trombonist Kid Ory. Every Sunday from 7 to 8 pm Pacific Time, Richard Hadlock’s jazz program is broadcast on KCSM, Jazz 91, a radio station in San Mateo, CA. This program (as well as all the other programs from the station) can be heard over the internet. For the 1999 tribute, Richard placed special emphasis on Bix as a composer. Richard spends six to twelve hours preparing each of his one-hour shows. I listen to the program often and find it quite informative and enjoyable. I will mention one of Richard’s recent programs because of the connection with Bix. On the occasion of Red Norvo’s recent death, Richard played several of Red Norvo’s recordings from the mid-thirties. Interestingly, one of the musicians in the band was Stewart Pletcher, the father of Tom Pletcher, who in most people’s opinion is the cornetist who comes the closest to reproducing Bix’s special sound. The other connection with Bix relates to Red Norvo’s recording of “In A Mist” in 1933. Red Norvo’s version of marimba is in my opinion, except for Bix’s recording, the most interesting version of “In A Mist”. I strongly recommend Richard Hadlock’s “The Annals of Jazz” to traditional jazz lovers. Richard must be doing something right. Throughout August of 1999, he is celebrating the 40th anniversary of his radio program with a special series on the “Founding Players” of jazz.
Paul Sterman wrote an article about Richard Hadlock in the July 27, 1999 issue of the San Mateo Times. I thank Richard for his generosity in answering my questions and for sending me information about Bix and about his radio program.
Bix Beiderbecke Legacy Stage Show
The New Wolverine Orchestra will present the second edition of their Bix Beiderbecke Legacy stage show on 28th July 1999 in Sydney’s “Independent Theatre”. The title for this year’s edition is “The Story of Bix”. This will be a 3-hour theatrical presentation tracing Bix’s life and recording history, with stage lighting, costume changes, etc. The show is narrated by one of Sydney’s top stage/radio/TV/film actors, John Derham, following a script prepared for him by the show’s promoter, John Buchanan. While the orchestra plays, a giant projection screen behind the band shows “blow-ups” of photographs of Bix. The tunes, ranging from Bix’s first to his last recording, are representative of all the facets of his career: piano solos; Wolverines; Rhythm Jugglers; Goldkette; Trumbauer; Tram, Bix and Lang; Bix & His Gang; Whiteman; The Hotsy Totsy Gang; Hoagy’s Orchestra; and Bix’s own orchestra. Addendum, August 7, 1999. Trevor Rippingale writes: “The Story of Bix” was a sell-out: 350 people and bookings had to be turned away in the last few days. The audience response was absolutely overwhelming: a very emotional reaction to the music, the narration, and the giant photos of Bix and the boys behind the band as we played. It really inspired us to play better than we’d hoped…and not without a tear or two among the band.
The dedication to Phil [Evans, ed.] (whom we’d all met) both in the program and from the stage heightened this emotion for us. Our cornetist Geoff Power won ovations for his note-for-note Bix solos playing his 1920s Conn Victor American long cornet, as Bix so often used. Being quite young and with his hair parted in the middle, he also looked uncannily like Bix. One of the best-received numbers of the whole night was the trio piece, “Wringin’ an’ Twistin’ ” which I did on C melody sax playing Tram’s solo, with Robert Smith’s note-for-note piano solo (as played by Bix originally), and drums accompaniment (our guitarist unfortunately opted out) plus the 2 bar cornet break at the end. The narrator drew attention to my 1925 Conn C melody sax, which I also played in “I’ll be a Friend With Pleasure”, “Singin’ The Blues” and “The Japanese Sandman”: all Tram solos. The audience responded magnificently, as they also did for the 1924 Conn bass sax which I brought out for “At The Jazz Band Ball”, “Changes”, “Since My Best Gal Turned Me Down” and “Riverboat Shuffle”.
It’s good to get recognition for these lovely old rare instruments. Our pianist, Robert Smith, deserves great praise for his faithful ten-finger re-creations of Bix’s piano solos: “In A Mist”, “Flashes”, “In The Dark” plus “Big Boy” and “Wringin’ an’ Twistin’ “. The above account is an almost verbatim transcription of an e-mail (7/8/99) from Trevor Rippingale. I am grateful to Trevor for providing the information.
Gathering of August 6, 1999, in Front of Bix’s Last Residence
Report: Mike Heckmann and I, the organizers, were in front of 43-30 46th Street, Sunnyside, Queens, NY, at 6:00 p.m. Bix died in apartment 1H of the building on August 6, 1931, at 9:30 p.m. Although the event had been advertised on the Bixography website for a couple of weeks, only four people attended the event. It turns out that three of the attendants learned about the event from Rich Conaty’s Big Broadcast program of August 1, 1999. I had sent Rich a printout of the invitation posted on the web, and he was kind enough to announce the event during his program. The fourth attendant was Joe Giordano, Bixophile extraordinaire for 50 years, writer (he has published several articles about Bix-related subjects in “Jersey Jazz”), and collector (he has, except for a few alternate takes, every 78 records that Bix ever cut). The block of 46th Street where 43-30 is located is rather nice. There are a number of apartment buildings that are kept in excellent condition. The street is lined with small trees. A few doors from 43-30 is a nice Episcopalian church. We stayed in front of 43-30 talking and playing Bix’s music on a cassette tape player. At 9:30 p.m., Mike said a few words about Bix and about his innovations in the jazz idiom. Here is Mike’s complete presentation.
We have come here tonight to remember an American musical genius, Leon Bix Beiderbecke, who died exactly 68 years ago on August 6, 1931, at 9:30 PM. He died in his apartment in this building, 43-30 46th Street. By all accounts, he died a horrible death in a fit of the d.t.s. He was 28 years old.
Because he died so young and so long ago, practically no one remembers him. Those who have heard of him might categorize him as a jazz musician. That would be an accurate but superficial description.
What Bix created was music of a unique beauty. Jazz was the medium of his expression, but the music that came from his cornet and his piano was comparable to lyric poetry. He took the brash, extroverted art of jazz and showed that jazz can be lyrical and reflective. He is credited with being the originator of the jazz ballad and that has been his most enduring legacy
Of his particular style of playing, there have been many who have attempted to recreate his sound. Technically, these imitators have it all down. Spiritually, they’re not even close.
Bix made his last records in 1930, a year when the country was in the depths of the Great Depression. Popular music changed with the times. The jaunty music of the 1920s gave way to the sad music of a nation feeling sorry for itself. Bix was the nominal leader of a band that made a record of one of these sad songs. It was called “I’ll Be a Friend with Pleasure”. One of the lines goes: “Though you are gone, dreams linger on I treasure.
When Bix died, many of his friends reported they instinctively played this record. And so it has become a tradition which we carry on tonight.
At this point, “I’ll Be a Friend With Pleasure”, take 2, was played on a tape player. A moment of silence was then observed. At the end of the moment of silence, “I’m Coming Virginia” was played on the tape player. As the music started, Mike continued:
This happier, and some say, most beautiful record of Bix Beiderbecke’s, “I’m Coming Virginia”, made in 1927, is an illustration of the motto of the Bix fans. Though he died here in 1931, through his music, “Bix lives”.
From the beginning of the evening, Joe had been telling the group that after the event in memory of Bix we should all go to the Neptune Diner in Astoria, Queens for a snack. Joe insisted that it would be worthwhile, but he was somewhat mysterious. I must admit that I did not see anything worthwhile about going to a diner in Astoria, Queens at 10 p.m. However, I soon found out that the diner was an excuse. It turns out that half a block from the diner is 2460 32nd St., Astoria, Queens, NY, an apartment building where Bix lived for a week before moving to the (then) new apartment at 43-30 46th Street. Joe wanted the group to see this building and knew exactly how to get there. At the end of the evening, Joe presented all the participants with a photograph of the plaque that had been affixed to the building at 1600 Broadway, Manhattan in 1975, and a copy of an article he had written for the October 1987 issue of Jersey Jazz. The building at 1600 Broadway housed the Cinderella Dance Palace, where the Wolverine Orchestra (including Bix) made its debut on September 12, 1924. The plaque had been placed on the building to memorialize Bix’s debut in New York City. The article in Jersey Jazz provides an account of how the Bix plaque was taken down and the campaign Joe organized (as it turned out successfully) to have the plaque remounted. Despite the small turnout, I found the gathering in front of Bix’s last address memorable. There was something very special about being, on a warm summer night, in front of the building where Bix had passed away, on another warm summer night, 68 years earlier. May Bix rest in peace. Gathering of August 6, 2000
Gathering of August 6, 2000 in Front of Bix’s Last Residence