Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and ...

's annual Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival commemorates

Bix Beiderbecke Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer. Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical app ...

, a famous jazz cornetist, pianist, and composer who was born in Davenport in 1903. It is one of the largest jazz festivals in the United States. It is held on the weekend after the Bix 7 Road Race, another local event named for Beiderbecke.

Background

The Bix Fest is a three-day music festival with many traditional

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

bands attracted from around the world. It is held the first weekend of August, to commemorate the anniversary of Bix's passing on August 6, 1931. The fest has traditionally been held at several venues around Davenport, anchored by the LeClaire Bandshell on the banks of the Mississippi River. Currently, musical performances are held at the Rhythm City Casino’s Events Center in Davenport. Additional events include a Saturday morning tribute at Oakdale Memorial Cemetery. Jazz is played over Bix's grave in the Beiderbecke family plot. Also, on Sunday morning, a jazz liturgy is held at the First Presbyterian Church in Davenport. The church was the Beiderbecke family's home church, where Bix's mother, Agatha, was the church organist. A band from the festival usually performs at this event. The festival began in 1971 when Bill Donahoe's Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Band traveled to

to play music at Bix's grave on the 40th anniversary of his death. 2021's Fest will mark the 50th annual Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival, making it the second longest running jazz fest in the United States behind only the Newport Jazz Fest. The Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Society was founded in 1971, to help keep the memory and musical accomplishments of Beiderbecke alive.

Notes

External links

Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Society
{{Music venues of Iowa Tourist attractions in Davenport, Iowa Music festivals in Iowa Jazz festivals in the United States Culture of the Quad Cities Music festivals established in 1971