|
After
several months working for his father in Davenport, he turned to a
career in music. Beiderbecke
split his time performing with groups in the Chicago area and working
for his father in Davenport. By late 1923, though, he moved permanently
to Chicago to work as a professional musician. He soon joined the
newly-formed Wolverine Orchestra and made his first recordings with them
in 1924. He was gaining a reputation in the jazz world as a
talented cornetist with his improvisational style, delicate
touch, his pure tone. This could
have led to a solid job with the respected Jean Goldkette Orchestra, but
Bix was fired after several months because of his inability to read
music proficiently enough to keep up with the band's hectic recording
schedule. Jean Goldkette kindly suggested Bix take a break from
performing to get a more solid musical education. Now
22, Bix enrolled at the University of Iowa and signed up for several
music classes. his attendance in all classes was sporadic as he
continued to pick up freelance gigs. After a drunken brawl with a school
football player, Bix was expelled from his second school after only a
few weeks. In
August of 1925 he became a member of Frankie Trumbauer's orchestra,
where he remained until both he and Trumbauer joined Goldkette in 1926.
His ability to read music had significantly improved by that time,
emableing him to fulfill his obligations in the band. He continued to
work and record with small groups and combos while with Goldkette. His
renewd interest in the piano resulted in the recording of his own piano
composition, ''In a Mist,'' which is considered a true masterpiece and a
highlight of his career. Bix's
other improvisational piano pieces were never recorded.
The piano never replaced the cornet in his professional
repertoire. When
the Goldkette group disbanded, in
1927 both Beiderbecke and Trumbauer briefly worked with a group led by
bass saxophonist Adrian Rollini before joining Paul Whiteman's band,
where Beiderbecke was often featured as a soloist. Years
of alcohol abuse, however, finally took their toll in 1929. His health
rapidly deteriorated, and Whiteman sent him home to Davenport to
Tales of the legendary Beiderbecke abound. There are stories about how
he was influenced musically by the riverboat jazz bands that travelled
up and down the Mississippi River; how he threw a week's worth of wages
on the floor in front of Bessie Smith so that she would continue
singing; how he carried his cornet in a paper bag. Beiderbecke's last performance
was at Princeton University. He had been ill in bed, suffering from a
bad cold, but he didn't want to disappoint those counting on him to
play. He died a week later at age 28 in New York City. The cause was
pneumonia. His body had been ruined with too many years of drinking
bathtub gin. Bix Beiderbecke is buried on a
hill in Davenport's Oakdale Cemetery, a cemetery his brother Charles
once managed His brother
once said: "It is amazing he is nearly as popular in death as in
life." ALBUMS Bix Beiderbecke's first recordings were as a member of the Wolverine Orchestra:[86] "Fidgety Feet" / "Jazz Me Blues," recorded on February 18, 1924, in Richmond, Indiana, and released as Gennett 5408 "Riverboat Shuffle" / "Susie (Of the Islands)," recorded on May 6, 1924, and released as Gennett 5454 As Bix Beiderbecke and his Rhythm Jugglers, Beiderbecke recorded: "Toddlin' Blues" / "Davenport Blues," recorded on January 26, 1925, in Richmond, Indiana, and released as Gennett 5654 With the Jean Goldkette Orchestra in 1926–1927, Beiderbecke recorded: "My Pretty Girl" / "Cover Me Up with Sunshine," recorded on February 1, 1927, in New York and released as Victor 20588 With Frankie Trumbauer and His Orchestra and guitarist Eddie Lang, Beiderbecke recorded: "Clarinet Marmalade" / "Singin' the Blues," recorded on February 4, 1927, in New York and released as Okeh 40772 "I'm Coming, Virginia" / "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans," recorded on May 13, 1927, in New York and released as Okeh 40843 "For No Reason at All in C" / "Trumbology," recorded on May 13, 1927, in New York and released as Okeh 40871, Columbia 35667, and Parlophone R 3419 "In a Mist" / "Wringin' an' Twistin'," recorded on September 9, 1927, in New York and released as Okeh 40916 and Vocalion 3150 "Borneo" / "My Pet," recorded on April 10, 1928, in New York and released as Okeh 41039 As Bix Beiderbecke and His Gang, he recorded: "At The Jazz Band Ball" / "Jazz Me Blues," recorded on October 5, 1927, in New York and released as Okeh 40923 "Royal Garden Blues" / "Goose Pimples," recorded on October 5, 1927, in New York and released as Okeh 8544 "Sorry" / "Since My Best Gal Turned Me Down," recorded on October 25, 1927, in New York and released as Okeh 41001 With the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, he recorded: "Lonely Melody" [Take 3] / "Mississippi Mud" [Take 2], with Bing Crosby, the Rhythm Boys, and Izzy Friedman, recorded on January 4, 1928, in New York and released as Victor 25366 "Mississippi Mud" [Take 3] / "From Monday On" [Take 6], with vocals by Bing Crosby, recorded on February 28, 1928, in New York and released as Victor 21274 "Sweet Sue," recorded on September 18, 1928, in New York and released as Columbia 50103-D As Bix Beiderbecke and His Orchestra, he recorded: "I Don't Mind Walking in the Rain" / "I'll Be a Friend With Pleasure," recorded on September 8, 1930, in New York and released as Victor 23008 With Hoagy Carmichael and His Orchestra, he recorded: "Barnacle Bill, the Sailor" / "Rockin' Chair," with vocals by Carson Robison, recorded on May 21, 1930, in New York and released as Victor V-38139 and Victor 25371 "Georgia on My Mind," with Hoagy Carmichael on vocals, recorded on September 15, 1930, in New York and released as Victor 23013 |
|
RELATED T |
recover.
