February 7–14, 2002

cd reviews|jazz

Bix Beiderbecke, Frank Trumbauer and Jack Teagarden

The Complete Okeh and Brunswick Bix Beiderbecke, Frank Trumbauer and Jack Teagarden Sessions (1924-36)

(Mosaic)

Most conventional jazz histories depict the ’20s and ’30s as L’Age d’Armstrong — the reign of King Louis. While there’s more than a little truth to this presumption, it tends to obscure the era’s other significant figures, whose contributions to an emerging music were more modest but no less profound. This seven-CD box set lovingly presents three such personalities, in a host of configurations and settings, and the results are often revelatory. Notwithstanding two curios by Sam Lanin’s Arkansaw Travelers, the earliest recordings here are sessions led by C-melody saxophonist Frank Trumbauer in 1927, and it’s easy to see why they generated so much buzz in their day. Trumbauer’s ensembles (which feature cornetist Bix Biederbecke and guitarist Eddie Lang, along with a changing cast of extras) sound explicitly, almost doggedly modern in conception and execution. Theirs is a chamber music — not for dancing, despite the steady 4/4 beat. And unlike Armstrong’s contemporaneous Hot Five and Seven recordings — which always revolved around a singular, brilliant axis — these sides are remarkable for their evenhanded polyphony. Despite a number of noteworthy solos (like Biederbecke’s perfect chorus on "Riverboat Shuffle"), the focus is most often on group interplay; only the avant-gardists of the ’60s and ’70s would display more concern for collective improvisation. This innovative characteristic diminishes somewhat as the set progresses (including commercial vocal ditties like "I’m More than Satisfied," which bring to mind the old Looney Tunes soundtracks), but the quality of the playing remains high. Meanwhile, trombonist/vocalist Jack Teagarden takes the lead on discs six and seven, and his presence is no less than magnetic (although it should be noted that by this time, the ’30s, the influence of Armstrong is unequivocal). All told, this box — painstakingly remastered, and smartly annotated by cornetist and Biederbecke expert Dick Sudhalter — provides an invaluable glimpse into an often-neglected corner of the jazz universe. There’s still much to discover there.

—Nate Chinen

All recordings are available solely through Mosaic Records. 35 Melrose Place; Stamford, CT 06902; 203-327-7111, www.mosaicrecords.com.