Royal Garden Blues -- Bix Beiderbecke 1927

[FlierFrank172]

I'm glad to see there is a number by the Carlings from Sweden with Gunhild Carling on Tbone. They're exceptional.

[gerrypepper]

this is perfection 

[BuckshotLaFunke1]

Hoowee, such mean chords in the intro alone.

[Easleytee]

This is what joy sounds like when transposed through a horn.

Glorious music.

[Abriggs500]

I believe sheet music for traditional jazz is not needed except to know the chord progresions key changes and melodies. Collective improv is what I believe in when I play dixieland. Im not entirely against sheet music but just think its unnecessary all the time.

[Abriggs500]

Hey everyone I play clarinet and play dixieland trad jazz. Ive never had formal lessons or seen a piece of sheet music. Ive learned to play dixieland by listening to several recordings and play be ear; studying the chord progressions and key changes. I try to emulate certain clarinetists as they "dance" around the other instruments. Is my method a good way to play dixieland?

[everybodylovesmybaby]

That is one awesome recording!

[InBy9OutBy5]

Wow, they all sound great. Thanks for sharing !

[vegaphoneprofessiona]

Why do so many bands have to play this at break neck speed? Speed is not what's needed, it's feeling. This is THE perfect tempo. Bix and chaps. I salute you.

[csalvaa]

TODAS ESTAS MELODIAS SON VERDADERAS JOYAS. FELICIDADES!

[ggnzlz2008]

Bix lives

[BadboybillyC]

To add my grain of salt, to say this band is substandard is a joke. When I hear Marsalis going on about Pops and this and that with his cool speak , I just think he comes off sounding like an authority whose music is too slick to even hum. The white guys that played Jazz well were firstly great musicians who were given the gift to swing. That gift to swing trumps all when it comes to judging good jazz and this band swings with flying colors. Give credit when credit is due.

[jhb134]

@BadboybillyC - Well, the band wasn't, really GREAT ... but Bix, as usual, was. as Whitney Balliett, of the New Yorker magazine, described as a "nugget in a fleshy palm", with regards to SOME of the bands/musicians that he played within, including some of the old, Paul Whiteman Orchestras. Bix was sui generis, and didn't even know it, at his time. .... opinions, only

[BadboybillyC]

@jhb134 Screw Whitney Baliett. Whitemans band kicks .

[jhb134]

@BadboybillyC - billy: Well, I still say that Whiteman's band could sound stiff, and even, to use Balliett's term - "elephantine". Without Bix, would there be any, good reason to still listen to it's recordings? ... Bix simply outshone almost any musician who played alongside him; no wonder that he and Louis Armstrong recognized each other's talents!

[djoutrage18]

dispised by his band members? i know your up in space but what planit you on?

rip bix god bless

[jhb134]

@djoutrage18 - Well, Bix had some problems with alcoholism, and could be somewhat unreliable, in recording venues/dates. It's true ... like it or not. Richard Sudhalter had a great book, incl. recording dates, about Bix ... and others have described the problem, that Leon/Bix had.

[mrspriscillakat]

This music will never age ... timeless jazz !

[Catboatwilly]

I listened to Wynton Marsalis' comments quite carefully. I believe I detected, through the arrogance and bigotry ~ came a note of jealousy. Perhaps, it is a realization by his inner self that, in eighty three years, no one will remember who he was much less listen to his work. Listen to the joy that these musicians reflected toward each other in this piece. It had nothing to do with race. Bix,.. 83 years from the date of this recording and still his work & name are recognized by many.

[SpeedyNeutrino43]

I paid to see Wynton Marsalis just once. After the concert he was arrogant and self-aggrandizing to his fans and I didn't even hang around for an autograph. I'll never buy another ticket to see the guy. I don't even listen to his recordings now.

[DimebagsLeftToe]

@SpeedyNeutrino43 thats a dumb reason not to listen to him. his personality should have no bearing on the music, yknow?

[vinylman4533]

Who could forget the c melody sax on many of Bix's recordings!

[cinnimon0001]

Randy Sandkey arranged this song for the bix biderbecke memorial youth jazz band this year and it is one of my favorite pieces that we play. we make it almost 10 min with all of our improv solos lol. im glad to say that the arrangement that we play is very similar to the one that is being played here :) we just finished with the bix festival yesterday. this is my first year in the jazz band and im really glad i was in it because this is some of the best music ever.

[thegranddilligaf]

Stanley Clarke said "All the guys that are criticizing—like Wynton Marsalis and those guys - I would hate to be around to hear those guys playing on top of a groove!"

[joomuck]

Every time I hear Bix, I am so happy that my uncle, who played with Bix in the 20's, introduced me to his music in the late 50's: it was the beginning of a life time love of his music.

Thanks for the posting,

Ted

[bongomagnifico]

Marsalis may be a fine conservatory-trained musician, and (in case you didn't hear him) black; but black doesn't make him a better jazz musician. He can intellectualise all he wants about the relative merits of colour, but does he make you want to reach for the gin bottle, grab the nearest gal and get up and jive? Plenty of European whites are playing far hotter (and more enjoyable) jazz than he can ever hope to make... playing better hot jazz a9aj-ap

[walterleipzig]

A critic recently described Marsalis as the perfect Reagan-era jazz musician - need I say more?

[charlosity]

@walterleipzig A friend noted that of all the dominant musicians for each decade of jazz, e.g., Armstrong, Ellington, Parker, Davis, etc, Wynton (the 90s) is the only one that did not affect the course of music. He just sold records and won awards.

[maldoror1901]

if marsalis is a real black man and plays music of white man (classical) why a white man cant play music of black man? music is not skin color or races music is soul is harmony.

[harryoakley]

Forget Marsalis. The man is a decent trumpeter (nothing like his peers though) but also a racist of the worst kind. Louis himself said this about Bix: "Ain't nobody played like him yet!"

[colomacks]

To erwigfilms... I agree that Bix and A Rollini were great, but you are forgetting Tram! I think you have to list all 3 as the drivers of theat great sound!!! John

Mack

[ABrandsma]

Everybody is talking about Bix. In a way that is Ok, but why is almost everyone forgetting Rollini??? Nobody in Jazz till at least 1940 (Blanton with Ellington) played such inventive, original and at the same time grooving bass lines! It is no surprise that Bix played at his best while with him.

Even Winton Marsalis is unfair when he stated that Bix was so lonely since he never could play with musicians of his own calibre. Really unfair to Adrian! I called my son after him to make up!

[erwigfilms]

Hallo Bert,

I totally agree with you, Bix and Adrian R. were the main players in that band. I'm so glad you realize that as well. Your son Adrian will probably become a great player as well with such talented parents. Good luck, I'm so glad we met two years ago.

Bob

[snorkelbda03]

Marsalis is an idiot. He wasnt there. he doesnt have any 1st hand information to back that up. Just like Buddy Bolen. he never recorded. No one whos alive today ever heard him play. Neither did their parents or even grandparetns...but says Marsalis " Ill tell you what he sounded like...he sounded like THIS...".

The fact is all of these guys are great. They clicked when they played together just like many musicians do. Some you cant play with...some inspire and drive you more.

[marvalhat13]

About fifteen years ago, I met a lovely elderly man who, as a young man in his early twenties, not only heard of Bix--but he and his band mates would travel from N.Y. to Chicago whenever/where ever they heard he was playing. Bix had groupies!

[pinkieldred]

@ABrandsma I agree A Rollini was sooo important and not noted enough.And as far a Winton Marsalis is concerned that was a STUPID statement for him to make...what a jerk. I suppose Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey were nothing according to him! Or Teagarden etc..

[TuberOnTheLoose]

@ABrandsma You'd have been hard pressed to find a better guitar player than Eddie Lang, who also recorded with Bix.

[jhb134]

@TuberOnTheLoose - Lang, in duos with the jazz violinist, Joe Venuti. The latter are some of the best of early jazz. Bix-O hardly needs, anymore, recommendations - his rigor, structure, inspiration are some of the MOST-remarkable of ALL jazz.

[wesm65]

@ABrandsma I agree. Adrian Rollini has been forgotten. He's generally the most memorable on these recordings after Bix. He's good on this one but more memorable on some of the others, I'd say.

[wesm65]

@ABrandsma Btw, Marsalis' opinions irritate me - he's so close minded.

[snorkelbda03]

@ABrandsma I think its merely instrument association/recognition. Bix being out there in front as maily the main voice of the melody he get's more attention from people, plus, how many guys these days play Bass Sax ? :) It's the same with Eddie Lang not getting the credit he deserves and the general jazz history books starting with Django because his music is more 'jazz' and more guys play . And Winton? No clue going on there. Bix played with some top players.

[santopec]

@ABrandsma Agree, you can say the same about Murray and Rank IMO.

[superfasulo]

@ABrandsma Estoy de acuerdo contigo con el comentario sobre el saxo bajo Adrian Rollini, un gran músico como pocos.

I agree with you about bass saxophone Adrian Rollini, a great musician as few were

[rachamsa]

la mejor corneta del mundo sin duda

[up2space]

in this consumer oriented society it's easy to buy and throw away anything. People grow an insensitivity to the people the made the product. in this case, an old relic of jazz which i defy any parent to tell me his 10 yr old kid is listening to. Bix died for his music. now we can toss cds of B ix's music on our cofee table and forget about it for another day. sure he must have been given advances but they came up to his hotel room at all hours of the day to hear the boy play.nobody gives a shit.

[andrewc3142]

I don't have a 10 year old kid, but do have two boys, aged 7 and 9, and they love this. So, whilst having some sympathy for your view, maybe all is not as gloomy as you may think.

[up2space]

that's the best news i've heard all day. Thank you for sharing that.

[GennettRecords]

Up2space you are talking absolute rubbish. He was not exploited by Paul Whiteman at all. In fact the bandleader gave Bix as much time off as he wanted on full pay so he could recover and as for people like Frank Trumbauer, Hoagy Carmichael, Eddie Lang, Joe Venuti etc despising him, that is total and utter nonsense. He was certainly not disowned by his family either, in fact his brother and mother were racing to his bedside as he died. I suggest you read the facts before posting garbage.

[up2space]

i don't know where you came up with all that bullshit. I never said that. Just reading that FT, HC, EL, & JV despised him. You don't know your shit. I suggest you shut the fuck up and go listen to some dixieland music until you sober up.

[up2space]

everything i said it my earlier post is true. and I wasn't referring to the people you mentioned. i was referring to members of the whiteman band. he sent every record he ever made to his house, and when he came back home he found every single one of them still wrapped. bix was a casualty. There is no doubt in my mind that Armstrong was treated better. are you a family member?

[marvalhat13]

@up2space If you read the book on Bix by Evans, his (Bix's) brother Burnie claims that Bix NEVER sent any records to the family in Iowa.

[up2space]

i got it from ken burn's docu on jazz which i hate. so i'll leave it at that. i heard wynton marsalis speak at berklee in the 80s and he said gillespie said jazz declined when integration started. everyone thought wynton was an asshole. i never liked his shit and his comment re bix's band mates is just camoflauged contempt. bix's bandmates were great jazzplayers each and everyone of them have their own legacy. my personal favorites in the past have been don murray and bill rank.

[marvalhat13]

I agree with you about the Burn's docu. and W. Marsalis! If it ain't black, it ain't jazz(?)

RIP Bill Rank and Don Murray.

[wesm65]

@marvalhat13 I remember reading about criticisms of the "Lost Chords" book by this school of jazz historians. What's skin colour gotta do with great playing. Ok - I agree that blacks have dominated in jazz greatest players. Bix is still remembered - but what about Rollini, Bunny Berigan, Bud Freeman, Bobby Hackett, Ernie Caceres, Miff Mole, Allen Eager.

[up2space]

someone should tell Ken Burns. Thank you all.

[ChristopherBix2]

@up2space Can't speak for GennettRecords, but I AM a family member. And I'd caution you not to believe something as holy writ simply because some author saw fit to put it in a book (and then because of it's pathos, it's repeated ad nauseum by anyone who knows enough to be dangerous about Bix.) The records story was told to an author by a neighbor of Bix's that clearly had a grudge against Bix and the family for some reason and who was likely never in their home after age 8 or so.

[up2space]

@ChristopherBix2 well you've had a whole year to respond. but in any case, i'll take your word for it. bix was a neglected person, there's no doubt about it. and when your in that position, the world beats you to death. people take advantage when someone is a boozer, etc, and someone who lives uncautiously like bix may have. he was a young kid. he deserved better. how does the family regard him now?

[csslayman]

Oh shut up and just enjoy !

[GeminiNightOwl]

Love ya Bix :)

[jazzopator]

One of my all time favourites! Had this record sent to me (Norway) from USA in 1948, had the odd number 'Goose Pimples' on the other side.

My brother stole that record and an Ellington Album while I was away in the army. Glad that I now have found all that lovely music on the web.

[WSenator1]

Louis and Bix are both great - they're uncomparable. Let them RIP, and just enjoy their music.

[GeminiNightOwl]

Bix was an amazing talent that comes around once in a lifetime - it's just so sad that he passed away so young. One can only wonder how many more tunes we could have cherished. But thankfully we still have these songs...

[GeminiNightOwl]

Louis Armstrong praised Bix and said that "a lot of cats tried to play like Bix but none of them could touch him". And that was true. What an amazing legend that left us so young...

[up2space]

nice try i won't dignify your comment/suggestion with a reply. never heard Louis talk about Bix but what does that have to do with elevating Louis to the greatest American musician of all time. Bix had it much rougher than Armstrong did. Perhaps if Bix survived, he may have put Louis to shame without doubt. you know what side i run. dead in the cold rain of pneumonia after being exploited by the King of Jazz disowned by his own family despised by his fellow band members. the true wolvernine.

[WSenator1]

Bix B. had it rougher than Louis Armstrong? Oh, come now! Don't think so.

[ewoldt]

Louis Armstrong is arguably the greatest American musician of all time......listen to how he talked about Bix.....absolutely brilliant

[lensman120m]

Brilliant....Bix at his best

[MartaBtrp]

Very good! Brilliant!

[alexwagenaar]

Best jazzrecording ever made!

[KlausVanBrueggen]

Awesome. Big, big thanks!

[slownoman]

pure, unalloyed unfiltered genius. this song will be modern 200 years from now. wow.

[ishouldntbeyoutubing]

In its way, Bix's solo makes me think of the opening of Mozart's Dissonant quartet. They don't belong to their era. Supposedly, the printer refused to print the quartet and sent the manuscript back to Mozart for corrections. Today, you still may look at the album notes to make sure you've got the right CD because it sure doesn't sound like 1787. Same with Bix's solo. It can't possibly be from 1927.

[aerofredywr]

I totally agree with Tavodh and Bondmatty.Bix`s solo is a real beauty!

[bondmatty]

This for me is Bix Beiderbecke at his best. The recordings he and his gang made in September and October 1927 are his best. Full of swing and rhythm. They must have had a good time playing this music. I especially like Adrian Rolloini's bass sax - very warm and playful.

[tavodh]

Thank you. "Royal Garden" and "Sorry" are my

favourites among Bix`s tunes.