Bix Museum, Bix Society and Truth First Film Alliance present BIX: “ain’t none of them play like him today from 1 to 3:30 p.m . at Davenport’s Figge Museum, 225 W. 2nd St. Tickets: $5. Tickets will be available at the doors the day of the screening. Members of the Bix Museum or Bix Society can get a free ticket at the doors the day of. Location: 225 W 2nd St, Davenport, IA 52801 at the Figge Art Museum John Deere Auditorium Join the Bix Beiderbecke Museum, Bix Jazz Society, and Truth First Film Alliance in watching for the first time in the Quad Cities since it’s original... Read More

The Davenport Public Library is to hold a program on April 7th at 6:30pm at |Fairmount and |Virtually about Davenport History and Bix Beiderbecke in partnership with the Bix Museum. When thinking about historical jazz locations, Davenport, IA is not what typically comes to mind. Despite this, one of the most influential jazz musicians of the early 20th century, Bix Beiderbecke, grew up here. A question that gets asked is how could a small river city like Davenport raise such a significant figure in American history unless by coincidence. Perhaps Davenport was the perfect place for a young musician... Read More

Josh Duffee and Carol Schaefer are two Davenport men who are passionate about one of Davenport’s most famous natives. They are the newest winners of the Bix Lives award, given each year since 2007 to people who exemplify what it means to keep Bix Beiderbecke’s legacy alive. Leon “Bix” Beiderbecke (1903-1931) is a legendary Davenport native, cornetist and pianist for whom an annual jazz festival and three-year-old museum in Davenport are named. The Bix Beiderbecke Museum and World Archives (at the lower level of River Music Experience, 2nd and Main streets) announced Duffee and Schaefer... Read More

Fourteen years before Aug. 6 was burned into the world’s memory (with the 1945 U.S. atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, killing more than 70,000 people), that date marked another impactful death. Davenport native and jazz legend Leon Bismark (“Bix”) Beiderbecke died Aug. 6, 1931 at age 28, from alcohol abuse and lobar pneumonia in his Queens, N.Y., apartment. His mother and brother Burnie were on their way to New York but arrived too late. Bix’s body was returned to Davenport with services on Aug. 11, 1931 at Hill & Frederick’s Funeral Home, and burial at Oakdale Cemetery,... Read More

The Friends of the Davenport Public Library recently won a state of Iowa grant to make material about jazz legend Bix Beiderbecke much more accessible to the public. The library earned nearly $15,000 from the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs to digitize audio recordings for the Bix Beiderbecke Museum and World Archive, which opened three years ago at the lower level of River Music Experience, 2nd and Main streets, Davenport. The collection of 239 reel-to-reel tapes and other media formats, including cassettes, CDs and VHS tapes, has been stored at the lower level of the Davenport Main Library,... Read More

DAVENPORT — Local musician Josh Duffee has long been a scholar of area legends like Louie Bellson and Bix Beiderbecke, and now he’s sharing his encyclopedic knowledge with a new online show, Bix Beiderbecke: A Driving Tour Around Davenport, taking place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday on Josh’s Facebook Live. “When I have the opportunity to travel the country and the world performing the music I love, I am proud to say that my family and I live in Davenport, Iowa, the hometown of Bix Beiderbecke!” Josh said. “The one thing I’ve heard the most from the... Read More