Andy Schumm’s Chicago Cellar Boys perform in the 2023 Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival at Rhythm City Casino Resort -- August 3 through 5.
Thursday, August 3, through Saturday, August 5
Rhythm City Casino Resort, 7077 Elmore Avenue, Davenport IA
An eagerly awaited weekend of live performances returning to the Quad Cities for the 52nd time, the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival will, from August 3 through 5, again enjoy residency at the Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center, with the Davenport venue hosting performances by a half-dozen local and national jazz acts -- Andy Schumm’s Chicago Cellar Boys, Banu Gibson & Hot Jazz, Dan Levinson's Roof Garden Jass Band, Hal Smith’s New Orleans Night Owls, TJ Muller & the Arcadia Dance Orchestra, and Josh Duffee’s Graystone Monarchs -- with guest sets by Jeff Barnhart and Matt Tolentino.
The festival is, as is widely known, named after jazz cornetist and local legend Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke, who was born on March 10, 1903, and lived at 1934 Grand Avenue in Davenport. His father was manager of the East Davenport Lumber and Coal Company, while his mother was a musician who played piano and the organist for the First Presbyterian Church. Bix attended Davenport High School in 1918 until 1920, and the following September, he was enrolled in Lake Forest Academy, though he was eventually expelled.
As a musician, Bix's first gig was in 1921 at Hayne's Dancing School under his own name, The Beiderbecke Five. After leaving Lake Forest, he played with several bands around Chicago and Davenport, joining the Wolverine Orchestra in 1924. When he was only 24, Bix was making more than $200 a week -- quite a princely sum in the 1920s. In October of 1924, Bix left The Wolverines and joined The Jean Goldkette Orchestra, and after returning to Davenport and briefly attending the University of Iowa in 1925, he began to play with jazz great Jean Goldkette. In October of 1927, Bix joined Paul Whiteman. bandleader for the Whiteman Orchestra -- the group had its own train, was on national radio, and played every major concert hall in the United States, including Carnegie Hall, where Bix played his own composition "In A Mist." Bix continued to collaborate with Whiteman until September of 1929.
According to his peers and music historians, Biz was a true jazz pioneer, having written the compositions "In a Mist," "Candlelights," "In the Dark," and "Flashes," as well as his hometown salute "Davenport Blues." The gifted artist, however, eventually became dependent on alcohol, a disease which contributed to lobar pneumonia, and he died on August 6, 1931, at the age of 28, in his apartment in Queens, New York. Bix's body was returned to Davenport, where he was buried at Oakdale Cemetery.
In addition to enjoying the skills of numerous jazz talents, Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival-goers are invited to spend some time at Davenport's Bix Museum, where visitors can learn of Bix Beiderbecke's brief but eventful life at the dawn of the 20th century, view rare films, and listen to his incomparable music. Opened in July of 2017, this museum in Bix's hometown tells his story through recordings, photos, videos, storyboards, poignant letters, instruments used by colleagues, and precious artifacts, including a baby grand piano from the New York City apartment where he died in 1931 at age 28. The museum is located in the lower level of Common Chord at the corner of 2nd & Main Streets in downtown Davenport, with hours of operation 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. Admission is free, but donations are gratefully accepted.
More information on all of the concert events scheduled for the August 3 through 5 2023 Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival is available by visiting BixSociety.org.
