Spotlight on the Bix House Band

Supporting my intention to live up to this column’s title, I’d like to share some real uplifting news! I’m referring to the purchase of Leon “Bix” Beiderbecke’s home in Davenport, IA by a handful of talented musicians and associates dedicated not only to preserving Bix’s musical legacy, but also a tangible piece of his personal history. I’m following up on the “breaking news” announcement by Bill Hoffman included in the September 2026 issue of TST and the longer, more detailed articles featured in the October 2026 edition by John Landry and Lew Shaw (a centenarian who was five years old when Bix died in 1931!).

Rather than retread the roads taken by Bill, John, and Lew, I chose to concentrate on more personal details about this event: I am fortunate to count the seven musicians who purchased 1934 Grand Avenue in Davenport as friends in addition to colleagues (although I only met Jenny Vidal Schumm at this year’s Bix Festival when the news of the purchase became public—her winning smile and personality made her a friend from the outset).

Before I get into the story, I’ll list once again the musicians who came together to save Bix’s childhood home from decomposition and eventual destruction. In addition to Jenny (an oboist), we have six world-renowned jazz multi-instrumentalists who are also keen historians: Mike Davis, Josh Duffee, Colin Hancock, T.J. Müller, Andrew Oliver, and Andy Schumm. I invited Josh and Andy, the two musicians geographically closest to the house and who teamed to spearhead the effort, to share some personal stories.

Obviously, Andy and Josh are thrilled that the purchase came through, as are the other owners—and the Beiderbecke family—and the neighborhood and town! Once it looked as if the closing would happen, the first thing they did was go around introducing themselves to the neighbors and telling them who they were and what their plans were for the house. Both Josh and Andy enthusiastically described the warm reaction they received from everyone they talked to; an otherwise decent neighborhood was now going to have an increasingly unsafe eyesore eventually restored to its former Victorian-era glory.

Regarding the family itself, the Beiderbeckes are ecstatic. They did not have the disposable income to purchase the house themselves but will be supporting the effort in myriad other ways, not least the cachet of their name! Andy took one of the youngest members, great-grand nephew James Beiderbecke—who himself is continuing the Beiderbecke line with his family, wife Ashley and their daughters Raelyn (almost 3 yrs) and Nora (nearing 4 months)—into the Bix House and described how the Beiderbecke lineage and legacy really hit home for James once he’d been given a tour through the house.

During our conversation Andy and Josh both wanted me to emphasize that there were many other musicians who they hoped to involve in the purchase of the house, but their lawyer advised them they already had too many people in the pot and for things to go smoothly after the purchase, they had to keep involvement contained. However, additional musicians who are close friends as well as devotees of Bix will contribute in other ways as the project continues, including Dave Kosmyna, who over the past several years has renovated his own Victorian-era home in Toledo, OH, so will be a font of experience and expertise as the project moves forward.

They also shared how well things were falling into place; even unexpected aspects of the project seems to be lining up, encouraging them to believe they are on the right track. For instance, the expiration date on the LLC’s credit card is 8/31, the month and year of Bix’s death. And getting seven people who live thousands of miles apart and achieving LLC status in under two weeks is also remarkable. Andy views it as “the house version of Field of Dreams:” instead of “if you build it, they will come,” it’s now “if you save it, they will come!”

So how did the home get to the dilapidated state it’s in? John Landry covered that in his article, but I’ll reiterate that everyone at the Bix Fest this past July/August, from the musicians to the audience to townsfolk, pointed fingers at the Avati family from Italy who were responsible for the 1991 (highly fictional) film Bix—An Interpretation of a Legend. Numerous attempts to purchase the Bix house over the decades were stiff-armed by Pupi and Antonio Avati, with the stated reason being they might want to use it in a future film project. The problem was from so many thousands of miles away, and with other projects in Europe commanding their attention, they allowed time and the elements to place Bix’s childhood home into a state of greater and greater disrepair.

[As an aside, while the film is historically mostly inaccurate, the music is phenomenal and worth a listen. After all, how can you miss with music direction by Bob Wilber, and a line-up including Tom Pletcher, Keith Nichols, Vince Giordano, Andy Stein, Dave Sager, Kenny Davern and others?]

When the stars aligned, the Bix House Band sprang into action and now the Bix House is now safe! On the afternoon of the day of the closing (many of the new owners learned the deal had gone through while they were playing a set during the Bix festival), the crew went over to the house and stepped in for the first time together, with a combination of pride, relief, and a “What the hell did we get ourselves into?” feeling. While some features are still beautiful and intact, the roof, front porch, and attic need major repair, the electrics need updating, and plumbing is in severe need of an overhaul. Andy even found a dead raccoon in the house when he stayed over on his own.

Oh yes: a few days after the festival, Andy spent a night alone in the house on August 5, waking up the next morning on August 6, the same date of Bix died. He said he didn’t think of that coincidence until the next morning and wasn’t sure he’d’ve picked that night to stay there had he put two and two together, but he’s pretty sure (as are we all) that if Bix had made a “surprise appearance” overnight, he would’ve been an extremely friendly spirit.

As they are geographically closest to Bix’s home, with Josh living in Davenport and Andy based outside of Chicago, they know they’ll be doing the most “hands-on” work at the house (along with TJ, reasonably close in St. Louis), but the other owners will bring their unique talents to the mix. For instance, Jenny Vidal Schumm has a legal background that has enabled the team to navigate the twisty path to their LLC status. Andrew Oliver has a background in urban planning so he’ll be very helpful with zoning and permit issues as they arise. Colin Hancock is an expert at producing recordings using vintage original acoustical equipment and will also curate an online presence. Mike Davis is keen on creating a book about the history of the Bix House.

Andy, Josh, and their partners emphasize this endeavor is not to draw a salary for themselves; all proceeds and donations go into the Bix House bank account and will be spent refurbishing the house (there’s not even a mortgage!) and eventually presenting concerts, lectures, recording sessions, and other events in the Beiderbecke home and in Tyler Park, just across the street.

Their LLC is called “Bix House,” and the group is known as the “Bix House Band.” Traditionally, a “house band” has a residency in some club or other establishment—for instance, on Tuesday nights Andy’s band, the Chicago Cellar Boys, is the house band at the famous Green Mill in Chicago. In this particular case, the seven musicians who purchased the Beiderbecke home are the “house band” for the “Bix House” so there is a clever double (perhaps even triple) meaning. I’ll leave my readers to figure them all out!

For these musicians, and for all who love Bix and his music, this adventure is a true labor of love: More than just an historic artifact, in the future, the Bix House will be a place where people can gather to soak in the Bix legacy and share a common love of early jazz and Bix’s unique (albeit all too brief) contribution to it.

On Saturday of the festival when it was announced that Jenny Vidal Schumm would be at a desk at the back of the ballroom to accept donations in any form, there was a veritable rush by the audience to provide support. My friends Conrad and Joan, visiting from CA to take in the festival, went back to contribute and came up to me with bewildered looks on their faces: $10,000 was donated in ten minutes!

Impressive though that is, it is the veritable drop in the bucket when it comes to what will be needed to restore the Bix House to its full potential and beauty. Anyone wishing to provide support can contribute through PayPal, Venmo, or a recently added GoFundMe by going to the band’s website: www.bixhouse.com. As well, donations by check can be mailed to Bix House, LLC, P.O. Box 86571, Portland, OR 97286 in care of Andrew Oliver.

Anyone who would like to contact Josh, Andy, or any of the other musicians involved in this adventure can easily find them all on social media. There are also ample opportunities to catch up with (and donate funds to help with the refurbs to) Andy and Josh in person over the next six months. This month the entire House Band will be appearing at Mike Durham’s Int’l Classic Jazz Party in Whitley Bay, UK (Nov 6-8). In January, both Andy and Josh will be featured at the Eagles and Ivories Ragtime and Early Jazz Festival in Muscatine, IA (Jan 15-17. 2027); in March you can find them performing at the Jazz Bash by the Bay in Monterey, CA (March 5-7, 2027)—including in a set called “Bix and his Gang” involving five of the seven members of the House Band; also in March most of the Bix House Band will be featured at the newly revived festival in Mt. Pleasant, WI called A Tribute to Bix Fest (March 11-14, 2027); and of course you can see ALL of the Bix House Band members at next year’s Ground-Zero event, the 56th Bix Jazz Festival in Davenport, IA (August 4-8, 2027).

Classic Jazz is in good hands with the Bix House Band and we will all benefit for years to come from their efforts. Bix Lives, and now, so will his family home!

Jeff Barnhart

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Jeff Barnhart is an internationally renowned pianist, vocalist, arranger, bandleader, recording artist, ASCAP composer, educator and entertainer. Visit him online atwww.jeffbarnhart.com. Email: Mysticrag@aol.com