I wondered if someone would challenge me on that.
He was *from* Iowa, and had played in Chicago as early as 1921, but was not
yet famous. The Wolverines -- which always claimed "Chicago" as their home
base -- were actually founded in Hamilton, Ohio under Dud Mecum's direction.
They took up residence at Doyle's Dance Studio for three weeks which was the
longest engagement the band with Bix ever played; during that time they
traveled to Richmond to make the first Wolverines record, "Fidgety Feet/Jazz
Me Blues."
While they were playing in Cincinnati word got out and spread -- very
rapidly -- throughout the Midwest about this amazing German kid who could
play just like a black musician. It reached Hoagy Carmicheal in Bloomington,
IN who invited them to come out and play at Indiana University. They were so
popular at Doyle's that the owner was locking up their instruments at night
to keep them from escaping, so they had to break out of the venue; one
musician hid in the building and then lowered the instruments through a
window. Then they drove to Bloomington, only to find out that there was no
gig. They did manage to find one in Northern Indiana, and Red Nichols drove
out to see them there. Then the Wolverines moved on to Chicago, and to
history, though with some replacements because some of the guys decided to
go back to Cincinnati, for example trombonist Al Gandee, who never recorded
again.
Bix left the group, which then broke up, and Husk O'Hare bought the
Wolverines name. The Wolverines under O'Hare was the featured attraction of
the Cincinnati Radio Show of 1927, and it was a big event, with huge ads in
the local papers, confirming that the group was still well remembered and
had remained popular in Cincinnati, even though technically it wasn't the
same band. The well known photo of Bix taken in 1925 with Red Ingle was made
at Castle Farms in Cincinnati, where Bix was sitting in with Marion McKay's
Orchestra. At one time it was thought Bix was on some of McKay's Gennetts,
but that was really a local guy who had already absorbed some of the Bix
influence.
If you don't believe any of this, you can find it -- all save the Cincinnati
Radio Show stuff, which I researched on my own -- in Richard Sudhalter's
book "Bix Man and Legend." I'm writing though mainly from memory here and I
admit that it's been awhile since I read the book. Nevertheless, the late
Frank Powers considered this a major development in Cincinnati jazz, and we
discussed it many times.
Uncle Dave Lewis
On Thu, Jan 6, 2011 at 12:45 AM, Michael Biel <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> On 1/5/2011 10:54 AM, David Lewis wrote:
>
>> Of course it is inevitable that on this thread I would step out in favor
>> of
>> Cincinnati and its surrounding area. It has served as a launching pad for
>> countless artists ranging from Bix Beiderbecke
>>
>
> What is Bix's connection to Cincinnati? He was from Iowa. His early
> groups were Chicago oriented and the recordings were done at Gennett in
> Richmond Indiana. The only thing I can find that links him to Cincinnati is
> that he had his picture taken in 1924 at Doyles Dance Academy.
>
>
> Mike Biel [log in to unmask]
>
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