Bix Beiderbecke - The Art of Bix Beiderbecke (2006)

Tracklist

CD1
01. Singin' the Blues
02. Trumbology
03. Clarinet Marmalade
04. Riverboat Shuffle
05. I'm Coming Virginia
06. Way Down Yonder in New Orleans
07. Fidgety Feet
08. Jazz Me Blues
09. Copenhagen
10. Sensation
11. I'm Glad
12. Toddlin' Blues
13. Davenport Blues
14. In a Mist
15. For No Reason at All in C
16. Wringin' An' Twistin'
17. Three Blind Mice
18. Humpty Dumpty
19. Krazy Kat
20. The Baltimore

CD2
21. At the Jazz Band Ball
22. Royal Garden Blues
23. Jazz Me Blues
24. Goose Pimples
25. Sorry
26. Clementine (From New Orleans)
27. Changes
28. There Ain't No Sweet Man That's Worth the Salt of My Tears
29. Lonely Melody
30. You Took Advantage of Me
31. Rockin' Chair
32. Barnacle Bill, The Sailor
33. Mississippi Mud
34. The Japanese Sandman
35. Cryin' All Day
36. A Good Man Is Hard to Find
37. Since My Best Gal Turned Me Down
38. Somebody Stole My Gal
39. Rhythm King
40. Ol' Man River



In 2006 Primo brought out a 40-track collection entitled The Art of Bix Beiderbecke. Loosely covering a time span extending from June 20, 1924 to May 21, 1930, this pleasantly jumbled portrait touches briefly upon Bix's early work with the Wolverine Orchestra and the Sioux City Six; revisits his collaborations with C melody saxophonist Frankie Trumbauer, and stirs in examples of Beiderbecke leading his Rhythm Jugglers, his Gang and his Orchestra. Also included is evidence of Bix's adventures as a member of the Paul Whiteman Orchestra and two titles -- "Rockin' Chair" and "Barnacle Bill the Sailor" -- recorded at what turned out to be the second to last session Bix would ever participate in. Already ill and seated in a chair, he blew his cornet alongside trumpeter Bubber Miley, another brilliant musician whose life and career would soon be snuffed out by alcoholism. This group, led by vocalist Hoagy Carmichael, also included trombonist Tommy Dorsey, clarinetist Benny Goodman, tenor saxophonist Bud Freeman, violinist Joe Venuti, guitarist Eddie Lang, drummer Gene Krupa and featured vocals (on "Barnacle Bill") by a gruff-voiced character named Carson Robison. Stepping back and admiring Primo's The Art of Bix Beiderbecke as a dizzy blend of classic jazz recordings cut over a transitional six year period, it seems like an excellent way to listen to highlights from the Beiderbecke legacy. The other way to do it is to consult tidier, better organized, chronologically stacked "Bixologies." The more casual method, in this case, works nicely even if it gives the listener no sense whatsoever of a temporal stylistic progression. That is clearly not what the folks at Primo had in mind.

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