In a mist - poem by Dutch poet Remco Campert (fragment)
Title of a composition by Bix Beiderbecke
1.
In a house that wasn't mine
with the woman that once was mine
the piano that nobody could play
and the bill that nobody could pay
house of mist
woman of mist
words of mist
love of mist
in a mist...
(...)
3.
In a mist I've been walking for years
in a mist of words and gestures
in a mist of pain and insecurity
once I will disappear in a mist of numbness
The thing about Bix is that all his contemporary peers--black and white--loved his playing. I'll take Satch's opinion over some revisionist critic any day.
I cry every time i listen to this song. This played at the lowering of my grandfather funeral and he listened to and adored Bix for as long as i can remember being younger listening to him play lonely melody and other classics i realize the art of this.
God, this is so moving! 'Candlelights' and this were beautiful pieces written by a genius whose life was tragically cut short at 28 by the demon drink. My dad, who also liked more than a drop, was born in the same year as Bix -1903. He lived until 1983. What would Bix have written had he lived longer?
Many thanks for your, reply I did not know Bix played the piano as well as the trumpet, Did he ever record a disc called
"Poor Bessie" I know he did "Bessie couldn't help it" with Hoagy Carmichael 1928 but "Poor Bessie" is a different tune
Thanks again
This is amazing, such a peaceful tune. I love Bix but I'm ashamed to say I'd never heard this one until today. I'm glad I've finally heard it now though, I think I'll be listening to it a lot :)
Am I going mad or does anyone think a young Theolonius Monk might have been influenced by this tune? Wish there were more of his (Bix's) piano pieces recorded.
Sometimes I think that, of all the players of that generation, Bix Beiderbecke's genius is the most buried in time. Artistically and temperamentally, the genius of, say, a Louie Armstrong seems to have been easier to capture on record. Perhaps from an innate self-consciousness, as Ralph Berton's memoir would have it, or perhaps simply from the strains of being a professional "entertainer," it just seems like there's so little of Bix (the real, unrestrained Bix, whoever that might have been) to go around; whenever I hear a recording of his, I just feel so far away from him. I think this record and Davenport Blues get closest to capturing what was making him tick, the kind of music that was aching to burst free from his soul.
I think I saw someone describe this as Debussy meets Duke. Quite a good description. I suspect Bix had a mind that never stopped thinking about music. A complex genius for sure.
