Echoes Of Swing: A Tribute To Bix Beiderbecke
) | Label: Catalog: ACT9826-2 Format: COMPACT DISC York, Pete; Dawson, Colin T.; Lhotzky, Bernd; Barnett, Shannon; Francel, Mulo; Hopkins, Chris; Parisien, Émile; Mewes, Oliver; Gailing, HenningOur perceptions of major figures in music from previous epochs tend to change over the course of time. There may indeed be something of a paradox here, because the innovators of the past are often only truly recognized and appreciated by later generations. The more energetically and decisively a pioneer has broken with the past, the more he or she will have been mistrusted and cast aside in their lifetimes, and the more is required from the rear-view mirror of posterity before they can start to be treated with respect, let alone with honor. In the case of Bix Beiderbecke, however, we have a happy exception to this general rule. His particular combination of an immensely likeable character with a jaw-dropping talent was enough to ensure that doors would open for him. In his short lifetime, both musical colleagues and audiences responded to him with a combination of affection, astonishment and awe. This was in spite of the fact that, in his own serene and unusually gentle way, he was effecting a significant game-change in jazz. There wasn’t any sudden break, neither were there factions fighting either for or against him, and yet he was responsible for an astonishing advance in the music. It progressed, it palpably gained in substance through him. Bix Beiderbecke is far from being out on his own. There were other great talents which burned brightly in the jazz age, only to burn themselves out, but his life story and his nemesis were so tragic, they still have the power to affect one deeply. However, in his case, what remains alongside the confused heap of anecdotes and hearsay are his recordings, all of them made within a span of just five remarkable years. Here we enter the real world of Bix Beiderbecke, a universe created by a mind of a superior order. Bix’s world is filled with clarity and bathed in light.  Price: $32.99 |