Davenport
The Bix Beiderbecke Museum and Archive opened officially on August 3, the first day of the 46th annual Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival. It is housed in the basement of the River Music Experience, a re-purposed office building on the southeast corner of 2nd and Main in Bix’s hometown of Davenport, Iowa. It’s the culmination of a years-long effort of local Bix aficionados to honor Davenport’s arguably most famous citizen. There was a private opening about two weeks earlier for family members and major contributors.
A Tour
The museum is not large—about 1,500 square feet—and as yet lacks any outside identification. But proper signage is in the works, according to Howard Braren, a retired professional fundraiser who was (and still is) a prime backer of the museum. In fact, before I left he handed me a stamped envelope, the purpose of which is to induce donations to keep the museum going (which I have returned with a check). I spoke at some length with Howard, who has a Beiderbecke family connection. His paternal grandmother was a Beiderbecke and a niece of Bix’s grandfather. That makes him Bix’s second cousin once removed.
Upon entering, one sees covers of LPs featuring Bix’s recordings or other musicians’ albums of music he play
