Bix’s Diary: December 11, 1926

The Jean Goldkette Orchestra is back in Detroit for an extended run at the Graystone Ballroom. In November, Bix took a few days’ leave to attend his older brother Burnie’s wedding. (The ceremony was in lovely Maquoketa, Iowa. Here’s a society-page write-up [jpg].) Bix was the best man and, during the reception, sat in with the band.

A few weeks later, the great Paul Whiteman stopped in the Motor City. His is the most popular and highest-paid band in the country—the papers call him the King of Jazz—but Bix showed no sign of being impressed. When the two were introduced, Bix is said to have remarked, “Your name sounds familiar somehow!”

Luckily for Bix, Whiteman didn’t take it personally.

For tonight’s concert, Goldkette and company perform excerpts from Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, which was commissioned for Whiteman two years prior.

This is one in a series of posts following the career of early jazz musician Bix Beiderbecke. The diary is based on the research found in Bix: The Leon Bix Beiderbecke Story by Philip R. and Linda K. Evans.