The 51st Bix Beiderbecke Jazz Festival In Davenport, Iowa, got under way, as usual, with a free concert at the Putnam Museum on Thursday afternoon, August 4. This year the music, which included Bix’s cornet brought into service, was provided by the Chicago Cellar Boys. The horn was played, appropriately and beautifully, by Bix protege Andy Schumm.
Due to my train arriving late in Chicago, I missed the first 20 minutes or so of this one-hour concert. As I walked into the theater, who greets me but Andy himself. He was sitting out one number, which coincidentally could have applied to me: “Out of Town Guy”—er, “Gal.”
I normally change trains in Chicago to get to Galesburg or Kewanee, then bicycle the 50-60 miles to and from Davenport. This year, partly because I had already experienced Iowa’s heat and humidity early in June right after the Glenn Miller festival, I opted not to risk a repeat, and instead rented a car in Chicago and drove to Davenport. As soon as I stepped out of the car at the Putnam I knew I had made the right decision. And it only got worse as the weekend went on. And Sunday it rained heavily all morning, making bicycling anywhere a risky proposition.
Thursday evening at the Rhythm City Casino was an auspicious start
