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Bix Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was a notable jazz cornet player.

Leon Bix Beiderbecke was born in Davenport, Iowa to a strict middle-class family. As a teenager he would sneak off to the banks of the Mississippi to listen to the bands play on the riverboats that would come up from the south.

Biederbecke's parents thought he was going to ruin his life by going into music and sent him to a boarding school, but he ran away to pursue his music career.

Biederbecke first recorded with his band The Wolverines in 1924, then became a sought-after musician in Chicago and New York. He made innovative and influential recordings with Frankie Trumbauer ("Tram") and the Jean Goldkette Orchestra. He and Trambauer, a saxophone player, joined the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, the most popular and highest paid band of the day.

Biederbecke also played piano, sometimes switching from cornet for a chorus or two during a song. He wrote several compositions for the piano, and recorded one of them, "In A Mist".

Biederbecke's early influences were mostly New Orleans jazz cornetists. His first big influence was Nick LaRocca of the Original Dixieland Jass Band; the LaRocca evidence is evident in a number of Biederbecke's recordings (especially the covers of O.D.J.B. songs.) Other influences included Joe "King" Oliver Louis Armstrong, and clarinetist Leon Roppolo. The influence of older New Orleans players such as Freddie Keppard, shows up on Biederbecke's famous two note interjection on "Goose Pimples."

According to many contemporaries Biederbecke's single biggest influence was Emmett Hardy, a highly regarded New Orleans cornetist of whom there are no remaining recordings; several fellow musicians said that Hardy's influence is very evident in Biederbecke's early recordings with The Wolverines. He was also influenced by music that had hitherto been far removed from jazz, such as the compositions of Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, and the American Impressionists, notably Eastwood Lane.

In 1931 at the age of 28, Biederbecke of excessive drinking. Many of his family issues went unresolved.

Biederbecke developed his own individualistic, heavily influentiual style of jazz cornet; Louis Armstrong once remarked that he never played the tune "Singin' the Blues" because he thought Bix's classic recording of the tune shouldn't be touched. As he later said, "Lots of cats tried to play like Bix; ain't none of them play like him yet".

The novel Young Man With a Horn (1938) by Dorothy Baker was a fictional work partially based on Beiderbecke's life. It was later made into a movie (1950) starring Kirk Douglas (with horn playing dubbed by Harry James). It was later parodied in the BBC radio series Round The Horne as Young Horne With a Man, featuring Bix Spiderthrust.

Beiderbecke's music features heavily in three British comedy-drama television series, all written by Alan Plater: The Beiderbecke Affair (1984), The Beiderbecke Tapes (1987) and The Beiderbecke Connection (1988).

External link

Bix Beiderbecke Resources: A Bixography
Davenport Blues - An mp3 of Beiderbecke's first recording under his own name.

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 '''Leon Bix Beiderbecke''' was born in [[Davenport, Iowa]] to a strict middle-class family.  As a teenager he would sneak off to the banks of the [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] to listen to the bands play on the riverboats that would come up from the south.
+Biederbecke's parents thought he was going to ruin his life by going into music and sent him to a boarding school, but he ran away to pursue his music career.
-His early influences were mostly [[New Orleans]] jazz cornetists. His first big influence was [[Nick LaRocca]] of the [[Original Dixieland Jass Band]]; the LaRocca evidence is evident in a number of Bix's recordings (especially the [[cover record|covers]] of O.D.J.B. tunes), although Bix far surpasses LaRocca both in technique and ideas. Other influences included [[Joe "King" Oliver|"King" Joe Oliver]] and [[Louis Armstrong]], and clarinetist [[Leon Roppolo]].  Bix's famous two note interjection on "Goose Pimples" puzzles some of his fans unfamiliar with the older New Orleans players, but is appropriate and unsurprising to those familiar with the style of [[Freddie Keppard]]. According to many contemporaries Bix's single biggest influence was [[Emmett Hardy]], a highly regarded New Orleans cornetist of whom we unfortunately have no recordings; several fellow musicians said that Hardy's influence is very evident in Bix's early recordings with ''The Wolverines''.  Bix was also influenced by music that had hitherto been far removed from jazz, such as the compositions of [[Claude Debussy]], [[Maurice Ravel]], and the American Impressionists, notably [[Eastwood Lane]]. Such influences aside, Bix is remembered today for the fact that he played like no one else.  Bix developed his own individualistic style of jazz cornet playing, which was unlike his predecessors and influenced those who followed.  As Louis Armstrong said, "Lots of cats tried to play like Bix; ain't none of them play like him yet".
+Biederbecke first recorded with his band The Wolverines in [[1924]], then became a sought-after musician in [[Chicago]] and [[New York]].  He made innovative and influential recordings with [[Frankie Trumbauer]] ("Tram") and the [[Jean Goldkette]] Orchestra.   He and Trambauer, a [[saxophone]] player, joined the [[Paul Whiteman]] Orchestra, the most popular and highest paid band of the day.
-Young Bix's parents thought he was going to ruin his life by going into music and sent him to a boarding school, but Bix broke out to pursue his music career.
+Biederbecke also played [[piano]], sometimes switching from cornet for a chorus or two during a song. He wrote several compositions for the piano, and recorded one of them, "In A Mist".
-Bix first recorded with his band The Wolverines in [[1924]], then became a sought-after musician in Chicago and then New York.  He made innovative and influential recordings with [[Frankie Trumbauer]] ("Tram") and the [[Jean Goldkette]] Orchestra.   He and Trambauer, a [[saxophone]] player, joined the [[Paul Whiteman]] Orchestra, the most popular and highest paid band of the day.
+Biederbecke's early influences were mostly [[New Orleans]] jazz cornetists. His first big influence was [[Nick LaRocca]] of the [[Original Dixieland Jass Band]]; the LaRocca evidence is evident in a number of Biederbecke's recordings (especially the [[cover record|covers]] of O.D.J.B. songs.) Other influences included [[Joe "King" Oliver]][[Louis Armstrong]], and [[clarinet]]ist [[Leon Roppolo]]. The influence of older New Orleans players such as [[Freddie Keppard]], shows up on Biederbecke's famous two note interjection on "Goose Pimples."
-Bix also played piano, sometimes switching to that instrument for a chorus or two during a tune. He wrote several compositions for the piano, and recorded one of them, "In A Mist".
+According to many contemporaries Biederbecke's single biggest influence was [[Emmett Hardy]], a highly regarded New Orleans cornetist of whom there are no remaining recordings; several fellow musicians said that Hardy's influence is very evident in Biederbecke's early recordings with ''The Wolverines''.  He was also influenced by music that had hitherto been far removed from jazz, such as the compositions of [[Claude Debussy]], [[Maurice Ravel]], and the American Impressionists, notably [[Eastwood Lane]].
-In 1931 at the age of 28, Bix died of excessive drinking.  Many of his family issues went unresolved.
+In [[1931]] at the age of 28, Biederbecke of excessive drinking.  Many of his family issues went unresolved.
-Louis Armstrong paid high praise to Bix when he remarked that he never played the tune "Singin' the Blues" because thought Bix's classic recording of the tune shouldn't be touched.
+Biederbecke developed his own individualistic, heavily influentiual style of jazz cornet; Louis Armstrong once remarked that he never played the tune "Singin' the Blues" because he thought Bix's classic recording of the tune shouldn't be touched. As he later said, "Lots of cats tried to play like Bix; ain't none of them play like him yet".
-The novel ''Young Man With a Horn'' (1938) by Dorothy Baker was a fictional work partially based on Beiderbecke's life.  It was later made into a movie (1950) starring [[Kirk Douglas]] (with horn playing dubbed by [[Harry James]]). It was later parodied in the [[BBC]] [[radio]] series [[Round The Horne]] as ''Young Horne With a Man'', featuring ''Bix Spiderthrust''.
+The novel ''Young Man With a Horn'' ([[1938]]) by Dorothy Baker was a fictional work partially based on Beiderbecke's life.  It was later made into a movie ([[1950]]) starring [[Kirk Douglas]] (with horn playing dubbed by [[Harry James]]). It was later parodied in the [[BBC]] [[radio]] series ''[[Round The Horne]]'' as ''Young Horne With a Man'', featuring ''Bix Spiderthrust''.
 Beiderbecke's music features heavily in three [[United Kingdom|British]] comedy-drama [[television]] series, all written by [[Alan Plater]]: ''[[The Beiderbecke Affair]]'' ([[1984]]), ''The Beiderbecke Tapes'' ([[1987]])  and ''The Beiderbecke Connection'' ([[1988]]).