The unrecognized Bix Beiderbecke #1 - What A Day!

On 15 May 1929 a small contingent of the Paul Whiteman Orchestra recorded two sides for Columbia - "What A Day" and "Alabammy Snow".
The record was issued under the pseudonym "The Mason-Dixon Orchestra" but it is not clear why this was done; Okeh (a subsidiary label of Columbia) always issued recordings with a similar personnel under saxophonist Frank Trumbauer's name.
It is rumoured that "Tram" once mentioned that cornetist Bix Beiderbecke did not record with his orchestra after the session of two weeks earlier, 30 April 1929.
But with a slightly different personnel under another name and for another label, this one-off session may not have been under Tram's direction, nor was it perhaps organized by him.
The discographies have always named three trumpeters/cornetists for this date, Charlie Margulis, Harry Goldfield and Andy Secrest, all three Whiteman regulars and the latter known for his ability to sound like Bix, who was being featured less and less and was to leave the band permanently in September.
But at the time of the Mason-Dixon recording date, Bix was still very much with Whiteman and it would have been logical if he was present; he had done a radio show with the band the day before and recorded in the same Columbia studio with them the day after.
Still, in the discographies and books about Bix, it has always been accepted that he was not present and that everything on this record that sounds like Bix was actually played by Secrest.
However, careful listening and deducting reveals that Bix can be heard on both sides.
Using the latest techniques we have newly restored both titles from a mint copy of Columbia 1861-D and identification of Bix has become quite obvious.
First of all, on both sides Secrest is the very prominent lead cornetist and it sounds as if behind him there are indeed two more horns; one of them being Bix.
On "What A Day", it can only be Bix who takes the final bridge beginning at 2:40.
This soft and subdued 8-bar solo is typical for him and in stark contrast with Secrest's dominating lead which immediately precedes and follows it.
Also it can clearly be heard that the two have different positions in relation to the microphone; Secrest is further away from it than the soloist and we are confident that this is Bix.
Addendum: Altoalto makes another interesting point : Secrest is out of tune, especially in the ensembles of the last chorus. However, Bix plays the middle eight perfectly in tune.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Bix
• Beiderbecke
• Paul
• Whiteman
• Frank
• Trumbauer
• Andy
• Secrest
• hot
• jazz
• swing

[Hernes6]

Hardly Bix, but "Bixy". Secrest became good imitating Bix, but was lacking his intensity and phrasing. A boring solo in the Beiderbecke idom. Not listed in any Bix discography, and that is understandable. Nice music thou.

Trygve Hernæs, Trondheim, Norway

[harryoakley]

@Hernes6 If you read the notes you will see that it can only be Bix - Secrest is playing the lead.

[harryoakley]

As I pointed out in my lecture about this is Racine a month ago, the name "Mason-Dixon Orchestra" was chosen as an in-joke by Columbia because the number of this issue is 1861. It was otherwise a Trumbauer session, but also unusual because it was the only one for Columbia. Trumbauer's recording contract was with Okeh, which was, athough owned by Columbia, a separately run company. In any case, here are not three horns (as has always been claimed) but only two - Secrest and Bix.

[fromthesidelines]

I wish I'd been at your Racine lecture before I opened my big mouth, Harry! I do appreciate your revealing the real reason why this was issued under the "Mason-Dixon" alias....

[fromthesidelines]

I believe that, since this was a Columbia release, they didn't want Trumbauer's name on it (as he was already established on their Okeh subsidiary), and released this disc under the "Mason-Dixon" name [to them, it gave the songs a "touch of class"].

[altoalto1]

the cornet on 2.15 - 2.40 sounds to my ears as an somewhat insecure Bix afraid of making mistakes.

[harryoakley]

Please read my extensive notes above - it cannot be anyone else but Bix.

[harryoakley]

I do not think that the bandmembers had anything to do with the name of the group. That was purely Columbia's decision. But it remains indeeed a mystery why this name was chosen.

[dancebandleader]

@harryoakley I tend to agree with you. But this odd naming of the group suggests

a performance that could have been thought less of by the participants.

[toonsmyth]

Great stuff! Thanks for posting these!