Wow, are you in luck. Brigitte Berman (above), the Oscar-winning director of Bix: Ain't None of Them Play Like Him Yet (1981), has generously allowed JazzWax readers to see her newly restored documentary for free for just a few days. On Friday, the password I'm about to share with you will expire and you'll no longer have able to access it. The two-hour film was recently screened in New York in August, and Brigitte is about to sign with a distributor. With a break in the action, she wants you to see it.
Without an understanding of Bix and his romantic, heartfelt cornet and respect for space, it's impossible to fully appreciate the music of the Austin High School Gang on Chicago's West Side in the 1920s, hot jazz of the 1930s, Bing Crosby's phrasing, the swing of Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller and Gene Krupa in the 1940s, cornetist Bobby Hackett and trumpeter Chet Baker in the 1950s and the West Coast jazz movement.
Brigitte's film tells Bix's story through a wonderfully written narrative enhanced by on-camera interviews with Bix contemporaries, such as Hoagy Carmichael, Bill Challis, Matty Malneck and others in the twilight of their careers. And the influence of Bessie Smith on Bix's playing. A remarkable documentary that is essential viewing.
Here's a little taste of Bix with Frankie Trumbauer & His Orchestra in 1927...
To watch: Stream Bix: Ain't None of Them Play Like Him Yet by going here. Type in this secret password: Solnicki.
Don't delay: You only have access until Friday evening at 10 p.m. (ET). Trust me, as soon as you start watching, you'll be whisked back in time to another era. I watched it three times over the past few days and now I'm wearing a straw hat listening to Bix.
Tomorrow: a JazzWax interview with director Brigitte Berman.
