DJ Chrisbe's Song of the Week #37: Singin' The Blues

With Louis Armstrong, Leon Bismark “Bix” Beiderbecke (10.03.1903-06.08.1931) was one of the most influential jazz cornet soloists of the 1920s. Bix taught himself to play cornet by ear, he never learned to read music well. Unfortunately he drank himself to an early death.

He first recorded with the Wolverines in 1924, after which he played briefly for the Jean Goldkette Orchestra before joining Frankie Trumbauer’s Orchestra in 1926. In the same year, Beiderbecke and Trumbauer both joined Goldkette. The following year, Trumbauer and Beiderbecke left Goldkette to join the best-known and most prestigious dance orchestra in the country: the New York–based Paul Whiteman Orchestra.

Singin’ the Blues (together with the recording “I’m Coming, Virginia”) is a milestone in Jazz history. The jazz ballad style was born and some elements can be found in Cool Jazz of the 1950s and 1960s. Bix had an unusual purity of tone and he was a genius of improvisation.

Check out: Bix Beiderbecke Resources

Title: Singin’ The Blues
Artist: Frankie Trumbauer & His Orchestra w/ Bix Beiderbecke
Recorded: 04.02.1927
Album: Bix Beiderbecke, Volume 1: Singin’ The Blues
Tempo: 136 bpm
Dance: Lindy Hop