Customer Reviews

Bix: The Leon Bix Beiderbecke Story

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This work is the result of decades of dedicated and exhaustive work by Phil Evans and his wife and will stand as the finest work on Bix. Phil's previous work was used extensively in the Sudhalter book, and this work is the result of all of that plus an extrordinary amount of newly discovered material, includeing many letters from Bix himself. Many previously unseen photos as well. Phil recently passed away, and I am eternally grateful to him for producing this excellent book on my great-uncle. If you could only have one book on Bix, this should be it!

If you love Bix, you'll love this book. It out classes all other efforts in the field. The research was exhaustive and directed toward getting the truest picture possible of our #1 jazz legend. The text is a bit broken up by the intrusion of quotations from sources, but that is the price of authenticity. For those who know and love Bix's music, the book is a must. For those who don't know his music, the book should make the reader curious enough to listen to him. I cannot recommedn it too highly.

If for only containing all the survivng Beiderbecke letters, this book would be worth it. How much light they shed upon this enigmatic jazz musician is another story. After all would you write home: "Dear mom, am rinsing my mouth with gin every morning. Living in flop-house. Unemployed. Playing music which won't be appreciated for at least twenty years"? Letters to other musicians concern mainly pay scales, gig dates etc. All of the touring information and band personel is listed in great detail. Discography is exhaustive too although the inclusion of the songs appearances on LP "Sincerely, Bix Beiderbecke" and CD "Bix Restored" (there have been dozens if not hundreds of Bix LP and CD reissues over the years) along with original 78RPM issue information is kind of a mystery. Photos are of mixed quality even taking into account their age (better prints of some photos can be found in Frank Driggs' "Black Beauty White Heat")and are rather dark or "bleached out". However, this is most photos of Bix I've seen in a single book and many I've never seen before. Bix fans are sure to find out things (particularly with regard to set lists) that they didn't know before but for those seeking a warmer portrait I would reccomend Mezz Mezzrow's "Really the Blues" or Ralph Berton's "Remembering Bix".

It's unfortunate that Beiderbecke's definitive biography is fated to remain as obscure as his music. I searched for an affordable copy of this book for years before one finally appeared, and few are going to be as patient as I was searching for this out-of-print jazz classic.

Philips and Linda Evans uncover every detail of Beiderbecke's tragically short life and present it in a beautifully illustrated and amazingly comprehensive 600 page book. This is a book to be treasured and read along with any of the collections of Bix's restored recordings below:

Bix Restored, Vol. 1
Bix Restored, Vol. 2
Bix Restored, Vol. 3
Bix Restored, Vol. 4
Bix Restored, Vol. 5