Search - Bix Beiderbecke :: 1924-30: Great Orig Performances

The real Bix

bukhtan | Chicago, Illinois, USA | 07/20/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I used to wonder why Bix Beiderbecke was so highly rated. Robert Parker's remastering of these sides makes Beiderbecke's beautiful melodic thinking evident and even resurrects his celebrated bell-like tone. This is the most vivid Bix I've heard.
Along with the small band recordings (cornet, trombone, clarinet, bass clarinet, piano & drums) built around Bix, this selection includes performances by the Paul Whiteman Orchestra (with some crooners including Bing Crosby)and Frankie Trumbauer's band (the c-melody sax player Lester Young based his style on). These may be considered "novelty numbers" by many but they tell us a lot about the musical background against which the great jazz music of the era developed."

Bix Best

Conrad Geiger | Austin, TX | 04/05/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wow! If you are to going own just one Bix Beiderbecke CD, this IS the one. On listening to it, I felt transported back in time to the studio where Bix and bands made the recordings. The sound quality is unmatched in any recording that I have heard made in the last 40 years. (NOTE: these are Bix classics from 70+ years ago!) This CD is a true combination of music art from Bix Beiderbecke plus amazing stereo & acoustical magic from Robert Parker! What more can I say?"

What an incredible restoration!

Conrad Geiger | 04/25/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Why, oh why, aren't more early recordings restored with this much skill and love?If you're trying to chose a Bix recording, well, here you go. This one will spoil you for sure. I also bought the CD "Singin' the Blues" and wish I hadn't wasted the money on it. Bix is represented musically much better here and the restoration is superb.I prefer the purely instrumental tracks to those with vocals. On this CD there are a four or five vocal tracks, but they're brief (and a couple of them are oddly sung--in my opinion)."