RECORDINGS
Tributes to Bix
RECORDINGS
Tributes to Bix
There are a number of albums, CD's, one 78 rpm box set, and songs which represent, in one form or another, homages to Bix. Most of these have the name Bix in the title.
in
the North Sydney Leagues Club. Every tune in this CD had been recorded
by Bix in the period 1924-1930. The first tune is Fidgety Feet,
the first recording ever made by Bix (with the Wolverine Orchestra),
and
the last tune is Bessie Couldn't Help It, Bix's last
recording
(with Hoagy Carmichael and his Orchestra). In between, the tunes are
from
the Wolverine, Jean Goldkette and Paul Whiteman years. The cover of the
CD is interesting. The musicians in the famous photograph of the
(original)
Wolverine Orchestra in the Gennett studios have been replaced by the
musicians
in the New Wolverine Orchestra!
Barrett,
Ken Peplowski, Scott Robinson, Mark Shane, Marty Grosz, Linc Milliman,
and Dave Ratajczak. From the liners "Our concert consisted of tunes
drawn
from all periods of Bix's career." I cite the following because they
rank
among my favorites: Davenport Blues, Singin' the Blues/ I'm
Coming
Virginia, Changes, and I'll Be a Friend With Pleasure.
deeply involved in
the beginning
of
a very new art form". It is based, primarily, on the music of the men
who
were supposed to have influenced Bix, chronologically: Nick LaRocca,
childhood;
King Oliver and Louis Armstrong, adolescence; Paul Mares, youth; Emmett
Hardy, the man who could have been. Side 2 contains Bix's four piano
compositions
orchestrated for the Octet and Davenport Blues.
he
listened to the British bands of Ambrose and Jack Hylton and to
American
Jazz recordings. I quote from the liners written by Herb Sanford, the
author
of "Tommy and Jimmy: The Dorsey Years": Dill's interest in Bix
and
his music has been with him a long time. I first met Dill in the early
sixties, when he was a pianist in a band Yank Lawson organized for an
engagement
at the Grandview Inn in Columbus, Ohio. The band did a show in which
each
member was featured in turn. For his spot, Dill played "In A Mist". A
few
years later, when Dill was with the Dukes of Dixieland on a midwest
tour,
he found the opportunity to visit Davenport and look around the town
where
Bix grew up." This album from 1972 contains Bix's four piano
compositions
and a piano solo of Davenport Blues. In addition there are piano solo
renditions
of Bix's classic pieces "From Monday On" and "Big Boy".Bix
Land. A
composition
by Dominic Cravic and Philippe Paringaux. The song was recorded by "Les
Primitifs du Futur" in the Fremeaux et Associes 1994 CD "Trop de
routes,
trop de trains et autres histoires d'amours." To listen to a one-minute
clip of the song, go to http://www.jazzvalley.com/site/listen/extract_id=7974
A rough translation of
"Les
Primitifs du Futur" is "The Primitives of the Future". They got started
in 1986 when Robert Crumb (cartoonist and blues aficionado) spent
several
months in Paris. Crumb got together with Dominique Cravic (guitar
player
and singer) in one of the blues dive in Montparnasse. They played
blues,
jazz and java (French apache waltz). The music style is a blend
of
the old and the new - the traditional French music played in a new
manner.
Before Crumb left France, the group recorded a 10-inch LP, "Cocktail
d'Amour".
It consisted of blues and musette (traditional French popular music
where
the accordion is the principal instrument). Their second record is
"Trop
de routes, trop de trains et autres histoires d'amours" (Too many
roads,
too many trains and other love stories). In addition to Bix Land, the
CD
contains "Sous les Toits de Paris" (Under the Roofs of Paris, 1930)
from
the Rene Clair film of the same name (incidentally, one of my all-time
favorite films with a great soundtrack).
I am grateful to Eric Min-Tung for informing
me of the existence of the song and related information.
contains
ten sides with Bix, eight recorded with Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra
and two recorded with Hoagy Carmichael and His Orchestra. The tracks
are
Louisiana, You Took Advantage of Me, Mississipppi Mud, Changes, Mary,
Georgia,
San, From Monday On, There Ain't No sweet Man That's Worth The Salt of
My tears, and Bessie Couldn't Help It. The liners provide quotes form
musicians
who knew Bix.The
Blue Rhythm Kings. This
recording was made in a studio in Eltham, London in 1985 and was issued
as a cassette. The band was called The Blue Rhythm Kings and that was
also
the title of the cassette. The recording is a tribute to Bix, Red
Nichols
and the California Ramblers. The personnel was as follows:
Malcolm Walton (leader, cornet,
vocals, piano)
Bill Boston (clarinet, alto,
c-melody
and bass saxes)
Chris Hunt (trombone)
Colin Martin (piano)
Peter Warren (banjo, guitar)
Ron Goulding (tuba)
Colin Large (drums, vocal)
The titles were:
Crazy Quilt
Singin' the Blues
I wonder what's become of Joe
Make my cot where the cot cot
cotton
grows
There'll come a time
Halfway to Heaven
Futuristic Rhythm
Didn't I tell you?
Wringin'and Twistin'
I left my sugar standing in the
rain
Clarinet Marmalade
You took advantage of me
Don't keep me in the dark
bright
eyes
I am grateful to Malcolm Walton for providing the information about this recording.
In Memory Of Bix. Sea Breeze 2079. This 1996 CD is entitled "Tom Kubis Big Band Plays Steve Allen, "FAST CARS & FASCINATING WOMEN". The song was composed by Steve Allen and arranged by Tom Kubis. According to the publishers for the sheet music, Walrus Music, this is a medium to advanced level big band chart. "As you all know, Steve Allen is a fan & writer of all musical styles. As a tribute to the great trumpeter Bix Biederbecke (sic), Steve penned this great and melodic tune. This 4th trpt feature plays a "Bix-like" melody line with a current big band background. This arr is fastly becoming a standard for trpt repertoire. Trpt to high D. med-diff."
Memorial to Bix Beiderbecke. This is V Disc No. 774. It was produced by the Music Branch, Special Services Division, War Department. It is a 12-inch, 78 rpm recording. Side A has "A Handful of Stars" by Ray Noble and his Orchestra with a trumpet chorus by Lt. Harry Johnson and "Singin' the Blues" by Buddy Hackett and his orchestra. Side B has "Dancing on the Ceiling" by Glen Gray and his Orchestra with Red Nichols on trumpet. On the label is written "Memorial "SS" Release (As suggested by Dr. John Dale Owen)".
Thinking of Bix. A piano composition by Dick Hyman dating from 1982. Played by Dick Hyman in the 1998 CD RR-84CD "Dick Hyman in Recital". According to the liners by Floyd Levin " "Thinking of Bix" is Dick Hyman's tribute to another of his early mentors, the cornetist/composer/pianist Bix Beiderbecke. Although the piece is original, Hyman's life-long familiarity with the Beiderbecke recordings suggest (sic) to this listener a Bill Rank arrangement, a bit of Adrian Rollini's bass saxophone, and several cornet phrases out of the Bix canon - in particular, the coda of his classic, "I'm Comin' Virginia.""
Bix Fix. A composition by jazz guitarist Joe Puma. Played as a duet by Joe Puma (guitar) and Warren Vache (cornet). One of the cuts in the 1994 Muse CD 5524 "Warren Vache, Horn of Plenty". According to the liners, "A tribute to Bix Beiderbecke, "Bix Fix" is tender and melodic." According to Warren, "I supposed he (Joe Puma) named it after Bix because the melody is vaguely like one of Bix's choruses. Joe has a penchant for rhyme and alliteration, hence Bix Fix."
I am grateful to Warren Vache for a gift of the CD and for his generosity in answering my questions.
Blues for Bix. One of the examples of improvisation in the album "Etudes" by guitarist Jimmy Wyble. Other etudes in this LP (Jazz Chronicle Records JCS 781) are dedicated to Red Norvo, Louis Armstrong and Fats Waller. The sheet music for all the etudes are available in the booklet "The Art Of Two-Line Improvisation" by Jimmy Wyble, edited and transcribed by Rich Carter, Flat Five Publishing, Studio City, California, 1979. According to the author, "This work is a collection of studies that were born out of a respect and mastery of counterpoint, composition and improvisation."
Bix's Bugle. A tune written by Ray Linn and performed by Ray Linn and his Chicago Stompers in the album "Ray Linn's Chicago Jazz", Discovery Records, 1978. Among the Stompers we find Eddie Miller (tenor sax; he played with Bob Crosby in the 1930's) and Dave Frishberg (piano; composer of another song about Bix - Dear Bix).
I am grateful to Joe Giordano for his gift of
copies of
the album cover and of the recording.
composed
Bix' idé (From Swedish, Bix's Idea). A tune composed by Gösta Törner and recorded on August 12, 1941 by a Swedish jazz orchestra under the leadership of bass player Thore Jederby for the Swedish Scala label. The discographical information follows.
Thore Jederbys orkester:
Gösta
Törner tp, John Björling cl as, Carl-Henrik Norin ts, Thore
Swanerud
p, Sven Stiberg, Folke Eriksberg g, Thore Jederby b, Gösta
Hedén
dr. Aug 12, 1941
820
BIX'
IDÉ (Gösta
Törner)
Scala 935
Several of these musicians
had been
part of the Swedish jazz scene already in the 1920s. As
for Gösta Törner, he
recorded "Sweet Sue" with the orchestra of Sune Lundwal in 1935 and
thereby based his solo firmly
on
Bix' solo of the same tune by the Whiteman orchestra.
I am grateful to Fredrik Tersmeden for
providing
this information in a message dated June 25, 2002. The text given
above is an almost verbatim transcription of the message. Fredrik
comments
at the end that "Although the tune contains some allusions to "Singin'
The Blues" I must say that it does not sound too Bixian in my opinion.
At the same session the band also recorded a tune called "Busters
idé",
probably a tribute to Buster Bailey.
In Memory of Bix. A tune honoring Bix's life and achievements in the 2001 CD "Good Time Jazz", the first recording of the Bix Beiderbecke Youth Jazz Band. Two other Bix-realted tunes in the CD are Bix's immortal composition "Davenport Blues" andHoagy Carmicahel's "Georgia on My Mind." The CD is available from the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Society.
A
Vision of the Music of Bix Beiderbecke. Private Astronomy. This
an Edge Music CD # B000907-02 by Geoff Muldaur's Futuristic Ensemble,
produced
by Dick Connette and released in September 2003 by Deutsche
Grammophon. As the liners indicate, the title of the CD is inspired
by a sentence in Ralph Berton's book "Remembering Bix." "Bix was as
usual
gazing off into his private astronomy." 
All the tracks but one were composed and/or recorded by Bix. Bix's four piano compositions -In A Mist, Flashes, Candlelights, In The Dark- and Davenport Blues, Bix's only composition for a jazz band, are included in the CD. In addition to these, we have "Take Your Tomorrow," "Singin' the Blues," "Futuristic Rhythm," "Waiting at the End of the Road. The single track neither recorded nor composed by Bix is "Clouds." I believe that this is an apocryphal Bix tune -see some discussion of this tune by clicking here.
Geoff Muldaur is a Bix fan from way back. As a youngster [he is now 60 years old], he listened to his brother's jazz collection and tells us that "Of all the musicians I listened to back then, none moved me more profoundly than Bix Beiderbecke." At the end of the liners, Muldaur writes, "This album is meant to convey the spirit of Bix and his time."
Although the interpretations are not done, with some exceptions, in the style of the 1920s, I find that Muldaur is quite accurate when he tells us that he is trying to convey the "spirit of Bix." In particular, the "chamber arrangements" of Bix's piano compositions bring out their bittersweet sensibility and haunting feeling, two of Bix's musical characteristics. The instruments used in three of the four compositions are violin, cornet, trombone, clarinet, alto sax and bass clarinet. In the fourth composition -In A Mist- the bass clarinet is replaced by baritone sax and tuba. The combination of instruments and the way the music is arranged makes Bix's compositions sound even more impressionistic than when played on a piano. The other tunes are played in a style that reminds me a bit of the smooth jazz sound of the 60s, in particular the vocals.
I was surprised to see that Randy Sandke, Bix scholar and friend of the Bixography, plays trumpet in four of the tracks -There Ain't No Sweet Man That's Worth the Salt of My Tears, Futuristic Rhythm (solo transcribed by Peter Ecklund), Singin' the Blues, and Bless You Sister. As usual, he brings his high technical proficiency and deep understanding of Bix's music to make these tracks significant. Other talented musicians are described as follows in the iclassics website. "Performing for this album are some of New York's finest instrumentalists, including Mark Gould, principal trumpet with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and saxophonist Ted Nash, a veteran of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Kennedy Center Jazz Orchestra, and a frequent collaborator with the likes of Wynton Marsalis and Mel Lewis. In addition to the chamber ensemble, other top players contributing to the big band treatments of the songs on this album include pianist Butch Thompson and drummer Arnie Kinsella of A Prairie Home Companion’s "Shoe Band," and ex-Ellington trombonist Art Baron. Besides creating the arrangements, Muldaur sings solo on several tracks, and joins with Loudon Wainwright and Greg Prestopino for some Rhythm Boys-style tunes. Martha Wainwright sings “Singin' The Blues” and “There Ain't No Sweet Man (That's Worth The Salt Of My Tears).”
Clearly, the album represents a labor of love: it has been twenty years from the time the idea was first conceived by Geoff Muldaur. But it has been time well spent.
For additional information about Geoff Muldaur go
to his website.
For samples of the tracks, additional information about the album, and
where to purchase it, click here.
For a review of the CD by NPR's David Greenberger go to http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1440418
and click on the link to
All Things Considered Audio.
I am grateful to Dick Connette and Steve Weiss for correspondence and for their generosity. .
This is the title of a new CD, Royal Oak Records nr. 5001, produced by Bixophile, record collector and producer, and Bixography forum contributor Hans Eekhoff. The subtitle of the CD reads, "A tribute to the legendary Bix Beiderbecke by Dutch bands and musicians. "
The introductory paragraph in the liners reads,
"The album was simply
made to
show the appreciation and gratitude of a group of musicians from The
Netherlands
to Bix Beiderbecke, that most creative and inspiring of jazz musicians
in America in the 1920s.
We compiled a program of
tunes
that are closely connected with Bix, including his own compositions;
four
originally written for piano and two instrumental compositions.
Most of these were recorded
specially this year when we celebrate Bix's 100th birthday but some
were
made earlier and desperately needed (re)issuing.!"
The following are the tracks in the CD.
1. Davenport Blues.
The Grand
Avenue Irregulars. Hans Eekhoff, tumpet; Hans Kip, trombone; Ronald
Jansen
Heitjmajer, clarinet; Peter Klop, piano; Louis Debij, drums. Recorded
2003.
2. Proud of A Baby like You.
De Joep Peeters Bixband. Marc van de Brule, trumpet; Ad Houtepen,
cornet;
Jack Lombarts, trombone; Dick Sleeman, trombone; Robert Veen, alto sax;
Ronald Jansen Heitjmajer, clarinet; Joep Peeters, piano; Tom Stuip,
banjo;
Niels Tausk, bas; Louis Debij, drums; David Lukacs, tenor sax; Guido
Nielsen,
violin; Chris Peeters, San Peeters and Wies Peeters, vocal. Recorded
2003.
3. For No Reason At All In C.
Ron, Guido, Ad and Ton. Ronald Jansen Heitjmajer, C melody sax; Ton van
Bergejik, guitar; Guido Nielsen, piano; Ate Houtepen, cornet. Recorded
2003.
4. Flashes. Floortje
Smehuijzen,
piano solo. Recorded 2003.
5. There's A Cradle In
Caroline.
The Bix Beiderbecke Fabulous Orchestra. Ate Houtepen, cornet, vocal;
Victor
Bronsgeest, trombone; Ronald Jansen Heitjmajer, alto sax, clarinet; Ton
van Bergejik, guitar, banjo; Floortje Smehuizen, alto sax; Robert Veen
bass sax; Guido Nielsen, piano; Louis Debij, drums. Recorded 2003.
6. In A Mist. The Beau
Hunks
Saxophone Soctette. Ronald Jansen Heitjmajer, clarinet, saxes,
arranger;
Frank Timpe, clarinet, saxes; Robet Veen, clarinet, saxes, arranger;
Sebastian
Ohm, clarinet, saxes; Allard Buwalda, clarinet, saxes; Leo van Oostrom,
clarinet, saxes; Hans Bosch, clarinet, saxes; David Kweksilber,
clarinet,
saxes; Michiel van Dijk, clarinet, saxes. Recorded 1998.
7. There Ain't No Land Like
Dixieland Today. The Bix Beiderbecke Fabulous Orchestra. Same as
track
5. Recorded 2003.
8. At The Jazz Band Ball.
The Grand Avenue Irregulars. Frank Wouters, cornet; Hans Kip, trombone;
Cees van der Zaal, clarinet; Hans Eekhoff, piano; Tom Rakers, bass sax;
Ron Meijboom, drums. Recorded 1977.
9. Lila. Andor's
Jazzband.
Ad Houtepen, cornet, vocal; Peter Ivan, cornet; Victor Bronsgeest,
trombone,
vocal; Paul Habraken, sousaphone; Ronald Jansen Heitjmajer, clarinet,
alto
sax; Peter den Boer, drums; Hans Bosch, clarinet, tenor sax. Recorded
1997.
10. Candlelights. The
Beau
Hunks Saxophone Soctette. Same as track 6. Recorded 1998.
11. My Pet. Andor's
Jazzband.
Same as track 9. Recorded 1997.
12. Rhythm King. The
Bixieland
Boys. Ad Houtepen, cornet; Dick Sleeman, trombone; Ronald Jansen
Heitjmajer,
clarinet; Guido Nielsen, piano; Tom Stuip, banjo; Robert Veen, bass
sax.
Recorded 2003.
13. In The Dark. The
Beau
Hunks Saxophone Soctette. Same as track 6. Recorded 2002.
14. I'll Be A Friend With
Pleasure.
The Bix Beiderbecke Fabulous Orchestra. Same as track 5. Recorded 2003.
15. Dear Bix. Chris
Peeters
(vocal) and Joep Peeters (piano).
The last track is a song written by David Frishberg in honor of Bix.
It is quite remarkable that a small country like The Netherlands has such an active and talented group of musicians, devoted Bixophiles producing what is obviously a labor of love. The whole spirit of Bix's music permeates the performances. Good for them!
I am grateful to Hans for a gift of the CD.
cornetist
who comes the closest
in recreating the sound and music of Bix. A detailed description of the
show is
given in http://ms.cc.sunysb.edu/~alhaim/eventscelebrating.htm/IfBixPlayedThe
second musician to be mentioned is, of course,
Tom Pletcher. He writes in the liners, "Fifty years ago, I happened
upon
Bix on one of my father’s worn out 78 Okeh records. The sound of his
horn
changed my life on that day." Tom has played Bix's music for the last
50
years, most recently at the Bix 100 cruise. He is a highly talented
cornetist,
but that is not all. He understands and has a profound feeling
for Bix's
music.
| 1. Hi, Bix! |
| 2. In a mist |
| 3. Basin Street blues |
| 4. 'Deed I do |
| 5. Sein loose blooze |
| 6. Stars fell on Alabama |
| 7. Davenport blues |
| 8. Sweet Lorraine |
| 9. Sunday |
| 10. The things we did last summer |
| 11. Wrap your troubles in dreams |
| 12. Do you know what it means |
| 13. Rosetta |
| 14. We'll be together again |
BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS
Recordings
The
Original 78's
Analysis
of Some Recordings: Is It Bix or Not ?
Complete
Compilations of Bix's Recordings
Tributes
to Bix
Miscellaneous
Recordings Related to Bix
In
A Mist
