Bix Beiderbecke
Cornetist Bix Beiderbecke is possibly the most romanticized figure in jazz. Dorothy Baker’s 1938 novel, Young Man With A Horn, established the basis of the cult of personality around Bix. The 1950 movie version, starring Kirk Douglas (with Harry James playing the cornet parts), had little to do with the facts of Bix’s life but confirmed his place in the American pantheon of artists doomed to die young. With the exceptions of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, no other figure from the classic period of jazz is likely to be recognized by the average adult today. Those worthies had many decades to establish their reputations. Bix had just six years to make his name as an innovator and one of the first white musicians to make a significant... Read More
- City Of Origin:
- Davenport, Iowa, United States
- Genre:
- Jazz, Classic Jazz
- Birthdate:
- 03/10/1903
- Death date:
- 08/06/1931
