jazz (Bix) jim o'connor

[Barbara Laurence]

I forgot another thing that makes Bix unique, which was in tues. night's
episode.
Voice over said that the most important early influence on Lester was Frank
Trambauer, which has been known for a long time.  Lester/Tram's approach to
sax playing was revolutionary; light touch, notes sounding sometimes like
water flowing uphill; often bell-like tone where each note and the silences
in between are meant to count (NPI); the unlabored way of playing; playing
behind the beat and ahead of the beat with crisp notes that sound like a
string of pearls (NPI).  This was how Bix played and Trambauer was Bix's
saxophonist when they did their best recordings in 1927, and he played like
Bix.  Bix taught him to play that way.
Now add the fact that the young teen with a beat-up sax standing outside a
basement window of the club, where Count Basie and his star,  Lester Young,
played - the young teen who practiced by copying every note Lester played
and also the silences in between the notes, was none other than Charlie
Parker.
So when I said that Bix invented white jazz, which died when he did, I
meant that it died as white jazz as such, not that it wasn't carried on in
african american jazz music.  For your listening pleasure, "Sorry" is a
marvel from beginning to end because someone got the great idea of
countering a trombone to Bix's bell jar tone.  "I'm Coming Virginia" - this
is ok but the solo is in its own music heaven.  It's said to be the first
recorded song played to be danced to a fox trot.
Bix died in C. 1930, the year I was born.  So I never got to hear him in
person.  I was lucky enough to hear lots of jazz on 52nd street in
1946-1947 (I was lucky enough to have a schoolboy trumpet player and jazz
freak as a friend who introduced me to the music).    Jim O'Connor