Crotchet |
BIX BEIDERBECKE
Vol. 2 Bix Lives!
Original Recordings 1926-1930
 Naxos
Jazz Legends 8.120712
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- Wa-Da-Da (Everybody’s Doin’ It Now)
- Clementine (from New Orleans)
- Jazz Me Blues
- At The Jazz Band Ball
- There’s a Cradle in Caroline
- Slow River
- Sunday
- Clarinet Marmalade
- Idolizing
- Riverboat Shuffle
- Ostrich Walk
- I’m Gonna Meet My Sweetie Now
- Blue River
- Way Down Yonder In New Orleans
- Borneo
- My Pet
- Take Your Tomorrow (and Give It Me Today)
- Baby Won’t You Please Come Home
- Bessie Couldn’t Help It
- Barnacle Bill the Sailor
It is quite possible that there is a greater weight
of paper that has been written about Bix, than the weight of his 78rpm
records. He is one of the legendary figures of jazz, whose melodic
style and short life, has provided authors and journalists with much
of the basis for the fact and fiction that surrounds him.
Five of the tracks on this record feature Bix as
a sideman with Jean Goldkette’s Band during 1926/7, not an out and
out jazz outfit, but at least Clementine contains a classic Bix solo.
Jazz Me Blues and At the Jazz Band Ball find him in the more appropriate
company of his own band and he sounds to be at his best with this
combination. Nine of the tracks feature Bix in a band led by saxist
Frankie Trauber and he can be heard to great effect on tracks like
Clarinet Marmalade and Riverboat Shuffle. The 1930 sessions have Bix
with Hoagy Carmichael amongst others; there is an obvious empathy
between the two of them. The last track has a vocal by Joe Venuti
on which the words are rather unclear, to say the least.
Considering that these recordings were made in 1926
to 1930, the bands sound good and the clean up Naxos have provided
for this CD is excellent. Whilst acknowledging Bix’s significant contribution
to jazz, he was one of the most outstanding trumpet players in this
era of jazz, some of this material is ‘corny’. I feel sure that if
he were alive he would have wanted some of it consigned to the scrap
bin! On the other hand there is some good material and it is true
to say the exceptional quality of Bix’s playing shines out through
everything. My favourite tracks are those that have him featured with
classic jazz instrumentation, I suspect he preferred that too, because
a ‘zip’ comes into his playing on those tracks.
Don Mather
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