The Davenport-born cornet player who became one of the first great white jazz soloists of the 1920s.
Leon Bismark “Bix” Beiderbecke was born on March 10, 1903, in Davenport, Iowa, on the Mississippi River, where he heard riverboat jazz as a boy. Largely self-taught, he developed a lyrical cornet style unlike anyone else of his era.
He recorded classics such as “Singin' the Blues” and played with major bands of the 1920s before his life was cut short at 28. His playing influenced generations of jazz musicians.
Beiderbecke's short, brilliant career made him a romantic legend of early jazz, and his Davenport hometown honors him every summer with the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival and the Bix 7 road race.
He remains one of Iowa's most influential musicians.
The Davenport-born cornet player who became one of the first great white jazz soloists of the 1920s.
Bix Beiderbecke was from Davenport, Iowa.
1903–1931.
Curious about your own family's story? We trace it through the public record and write it up as a documented history.
See how it works →This profile presents only publicly reported facts, drawn from the sources above. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the family or its companies.
Portrait: Wikimedia Commons (public domain or freely licensed).