Nomination of Bix for a commemorative stamp.The first effort was on Jan 20, 1995 by the Bix Society. The second by Mike Heckman and I on Nov 19, 1999. The third on Feb 22, 2003. It is time to make a new nomination. Here is what I propose to send. I welcome comments, corrections, suggestions for improvement, additions, deletions, etc. It is almost the same as what I sent in 1999, just updated. Once I submit the nomination, I will post and at that time I would appreciate letters of support sent to Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee 475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room 3300 Washington, DC 20260-3501 Nomination, Draft. October 15, 2014 Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee 475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room 3300 Washington, DC 20260-3501 Dear Members of the Advisory Committee: In May 1998, the U.S.P.S issued a commemorative stamp entitled “Jazz Flourishes”. The description of the stamp in the U.S.P.S. web site reads: “1920’s: Jazz. Created in the United States, jazz was spread by radio and recordings in the 1920’s. Among the leading performers were Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Joe “King” Oliver, Fletcher Henderson, and Bix Beiderbecke.” The USPS singled out five musicians out of the hundreds who played in the 1920’s. Of these five musicians, two of them, Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton, have been the subjects of commemorative stamps in 1995. I suggest that Leon Bix Beiderbecke, one of the most important American jazz musicians of the 20th century, be honored with a commemorative stamp. Leon Bix Beiderbecke is a jazz musician of world renown who made unparalleled, innovative, and lasting contributions to the jazz idiom, both as a performer (cornet and piano) and as a composer. Bix is ordinarily categorized as a jazz musician. That would be an accurate but incomplete description. What Bix created was music of unique beauty. Jazz was the medium of his expression, but the music that came from his cornet and piano was comparable to lyric poetry. He took the brash, extroverted art of jazz and showed that jazz can be melodious and reflective. He is credited with being the originator of the jazz ballad. He took the polyphonic New Orleans jazz style and added the expressive and lyrical instrumental solo to it. These two innovations are among the most important components of Bix’s enduring musical legacy. The other components are represented by Bix’s highly original musical compositions and by his recordings. The recordings, although made when the quality of sound reproduction was somewhat limited, show that Bix’s cornet sound was beautiful and unique, that he was a musician of exquisite taste, and that he had a remarkable genius for extemporaneous and highly original improvisation. Leon Bix Beiderbecke was born on March 10, 1903 in Davenport, Iowa and died in Queens, NY on August 6, 1931. He began his professional career in 1923 playing cornet with the Wolverine Orchestra. In 1926, he joined the Jean Goldkette Victor Recording Orchestra, the most successful jazz organization in the Midwest. In 1927, he joined the orchestra of Paul Whiteman, the “King of Jazz”. During Bix’s brief recording career – it lasted only six years – he recorded with such musical giants as Hoagy Carmichael, Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, Eddie Lang, Joe Venuti, and many others. Today, 111 years after his birth and 84 years after his death, Bix Beiderbecke has a phenomenal popularity and influence that extends beyond any geographical boundaries. Bix was an original. His technique and style of playing were unique and had a profound influence on his fellow musicians. Bix’s solo in “Singin’ the Blues” has been recorded note for note by several musicians of renown such as Rex Stewart and Bobby Hackett. Following Bix’s recording of the tune, almost every jazz player in America tried to emulate his style and sound. Bix’s recording of “Singin’ the Blues” is considered by most jazz critics and historians to be one of the two most important jazz recordings of all time. The other one is Armstrong’s “West End Blues”. “Singin’ the Blues” was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Jazz in 1977 and in the Library of Congress National Recording Registry in 2006. However, even more important than Bix’s influence on his contemporaries, is the fact that he provided a different path than that developed by Louis Armstrong. A comparison with Armstrong, considered by many to be the most important jazz musician ever, is appropriate because Bix’s musical creativity flourished at the same time as that of the young Louis Armstrong. Whereas Armstrong’s strength was his spectacular technique, Bix’s genius was for extemporaneous improvisation. Bix’s improvisational style introduced into jazz music a greater measure of classical structure and sensibility. His piano compositions blend the idiom of jazz with the classical European tradition, in particular French impressionism. Bix’s most important piano composition, “In A Mist,” was selected for a Grammy Hall of Fame award in 1980. Between 1927 and 2010, there are over 100 recordings of the composition. Bix’s influence in jazz was long lasting. Many jazz critics and historians consider that Bix’s music is at the origin of the movement known as cool jazz. Detailed information is provided in the attached documents entitled “Additional Information in Support of the Nomination of Leon Bix Beiderbecke as the Subject of a Commemorative Stamp”. Sincerely, Albert Haim Additional Information in Support of the Nomination of Leon Bix Beiderbecke as the Subject of a Commemorative Stamp In what follows, we will list evidence of the recognition and honors bestowed upon Bix by his seminal contributions and achievements. • The Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Society, founded in 1971, is dedicated to the preservation and perpetuation of Bix’s musical genius. The most important activity of the Society is the annual Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival, which has taken place without interruption since 1972 in Davenport, Iowa, Bix’s birthplace. At the last Festival in 1999, approximately 15,000 people attended the festivities, which include the Jazz Festival, the world class Bix 7 race, and a street fair. Orchestras from within the United States as well as from abroad play at the Jazz Festival. The annual festival is reputed to be the largest single event in the state of Iowa. • On September 30, 2004, Jazz at Lincoln Center celebrated the dedication of the Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame in Columbus Circle, New York City. The inaugural class of members inducted were: Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Bix Beiderbecke, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins, Billie Holiday, Thelonious Monk, Jelly Roll Morton, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum and Lester Young. • In November of 1997, Bix Beiderbecke was inducted in the International Jazz Hall of Fame (IJHF). The primary mission of the IJHF is to preserve and perpetuate the sophisticated, multifaceted art form that is American jazz. • The National Register of Historic Places, a branch of the Department of Interior, is the Nations official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation. Included among the 80,000 properties listed in the Register, are National Historic Landmarks, Lighthouses, Libraries, Schools, and Mills. The National Register also includes about 15,000 houses across the United States. One of these is the house at 1934 Grand Avenue, Davenport, Iowa. This is the house where Bix was born. The house was entered into the register on July 13, 1977, reference number 77000554. We wish to point out that, “in order to qualify for inclusion in the National Register, the property must be of special significance to the Nation, the State, or the community”. Certainly, Bixs house qualifies on all counts. Bixs musical genius transcends Davenport, Iowa, and even the United States, as witness the number of biographies written abroad and the number of reissues on LPs and CDs of Bixs recordings in the U.S.A., Italy, France, Germany, and England. • Bix Beiderbecke was inducted in the following Jazz Halls of Fame: Downbeat, Big Band, ASCAP, Gennett, Sweet and Hot Music, Iowa. • Eleven biographies of Bix Beiderbecke have been written, the first in 1958, the last in 2004. These biographies were first published in the U.S.A, England, France, Germany, and Italy. One of the biographies is part of the “Notable American Series for Young Readers”. • Four Ph.D. Dissertations have been devoted to analyses of Bix’s music and life. Two of these originated in American Universities, one in a French University, and one in an Italian University. Two of the dissertations emphasize the contributions of Bix as a composer by assessing the exchange of influences between American Jazz and French impressionist music. • The 1990 film “Bix: An Interpretation of a Legend” by the world-class cinematographer Pupi Avati was shown in 1991 at the Cannes Film Festival and was released on video in 1994. The film represents a high-quality production filmed in many of the original sites where Bix lived and worked. The meticulous recreation of the music and period are noteworthy. • Brigitte Berman, the award-winning Canadian documentary film maker, wrote, produced and directed the film “Bix: Aint None of Them Play Like Him Yet”. The film won the Bronze Hugo Award at the Chicago International Film Festival in Chicago in 1981. • Bix played “In A Mist”, his most famous piano composition, in Carnegie Hall in 1928. This was part of an experimental concert presented by Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra. This must have been one of the most satisfying moments in Bixs professional life. At a time when he was becoming quite serious about musical composition and turning more toward the piano as the vehicle for his prodigious musical inventiveness, performing his own piano masterpiece in one of the worlds top concert halls was undoubtedly one of the highest points in Bixs career. • A Bix Beiderbecke Museum and Archives is about to begin construction in Davenport, Iowa. • Nearly fifty albums and CD’s that represent tributes to Bix by other musicians have been released in the last twenty years. • Countless chapters in books and articles in magazines have been dedicated to analyses of Bix’s musical career. Perhaps, the most notable article was published in the prestigious Smithsonian magazine in July 1997. • The Putnam Museum in Davenport, Iowa and the Louisiana State Museum Jazz Collection in New Orleans have special areas devoted to audio-visual exhibits of Bix’s musical instruments, photographs and biographical information. • The distinguished composer Lalo Schiffrin wrote a symphonic piece – Rhapsody for Bix – as a tribute to Bix’s musical genius. The premiere performance of the composition took place in Davenport, Iowa in 1996. • Radio stations throughout the country celebrate Bix’s birthday every year by having special programs devoted to his music. The most outstanding example comes from the radio station of Columbia University, WKCR, that broadcasts 24 hours of Bix’s music every March 10, the date of Bix’s birthday. Additional information can be found in the web site entitled “Bix Beiderbecke Resources: A Bixography”. The URL is bixbeiderbecke
Posted on: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 23:55:34 +0000
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