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Bix Is for Kids
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Press release submitted by Jessica Waytenick Bix Is for Kids Quad Cities – Kids can have a great time at the 38th annual Bix Beiderbecke Jazz Festival on Thursday-Sunday, July 23-26, 2009, in Davenport, Iowa, with these activities just for them! Any full time student can get a FREE pass to the festival through West Music! This pass gives students free admission to all performances in LeClaire Park, 400 Beiderbecke Dr. in downtown Davenport and free admission to the four hour-long seminars held at the Clarion Hotel on Friday, July 24 and Saturday, July 25 about Bix and his music. Complete the form online at www.westmusic.com/bixtix or stop by West Music, 4305 44th Ave. in Moline by Monday, July 13 and a ticket will be mailed directly to you. Young musicians are welcome to bring their instruments to the FREE youth clinic on Saturday, July 25 at 3 pm at the Clarion Hotel, 5202 Brady St. in Davenport. No pre-registration is needed. Conducted by Wally"s Warehouse Waifs from Michigan, the band members will work with the musicians on technique, musicianship, and improvisation. Along with the great riverfront festival setting of LeClaire Park, the Bix Society is offering again this year the FREE "Bix"s Kids" area from 1-4 pm on Saturday, July 25 and Sunday, July 26 located in the picnic shelter at the east end of the park. This kid"s activity area includes games such as musical bingo and musical tangle, similar to Twister. Also back by popular demand, the Bix Kazoo Band will be performing between sets of the professional bands. "We hope that by giving young people their own area at the Bix Fest, their parents and grandparents will be encouraged to bring them along", says Bix Society President Ray Voss. "Then, when the kids are done playing in the Bix"s Kids area, they can join the rest of the family in relaxing and enjoying the music and hopefully, we'll bring along another generation of traditional jazz admirers." Along with the continuous activities, children can make instruments from recycled materials and ordinary objects found around the house with West Music staff on Saturday from 1-2 pm. Then from 2-3 pm the experts from West Music continue the fun with a drum circle. On Sunday, July 26 from 1-2 pm local musician and popular children"s performer, Steve Couch, leads musical games. At 2-3 pm, youngsters can participate in a Kindermusik class. Another way for kids to enjoy the Bix Beiderbecke Jazz Festival is by listening to a band with kids their own age in it—the Bix Beiderbecke Youth Jazz Band, conducted by Bruce Bogen. This talented group of teenagers is selected by teacher recommendations and auditions, from all Quad Cities area middle and high schools. They concentrate in learning the music from the era of Bix Beiderbecke"s time: the 1920"s and early 1930"s. This is a "gap" in most music education since it predates popular high school jazz material of today. You can hear the Bix Youth Jazz Band play on Thursday, July 23 from 6-7 pm at the Col Ballroom, 1012 W. 4th St. in Davenport; Friday, July 24 from 2:30-3:30 pm at LeClaire Park; Saturday, July 25 from 12-1 pm at the Clarion Hotel and 6-7 pm at Danceland, 501 W. 4th St. in Davenport. The Festival"s four venues in Davenport include: the Col Ballroom, Clarion Hotel, Danceland Ballroom, and LeClaire Park. For a complete schedule of all the bands, visit www.bixsociety.org. Tickets for the festival are sold by the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Society at 563-324-7170, www.bixsociety.org, and all local Hy-Vee stores. Since 1972, the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival has been held annually in Bix"s hometown of Davenport, Iowa, in July to honor this unassuming young genius whose career was cut short by his death in 1931 at the age of 28. Bix has been the subject of two movies, major books, a Lalo Schifrin symphony, Carnegie Hall performances, selection to the International Jazz Hall of Fame, and more. 
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