music.wikisort.org - Composition

"In a Mist" is a 1927 composition for piano by Bix Beiderbecke.

"In a Mist"
Single by Bix Beiderbecke
B-side	"Wringin' an' Twistin'"
Released	October 1927
Recorded	September 9, 1927, New York City
Genre	Jazz
Length	2:46
Label	Okeh, Vocalion
Songwriter(s)	Bix Beiderbecke
Bix Beiderbecke singles chronology
"For No Reason at All in C" (1927) "In a Mist" (1927) "Borneo" (1928)

Background

"In a Mist" was first recorded by Beiderbecke as a piano solo on September 9, 1927 in New York and released as OKeh 40916 backed with "Wringin' an' Twistin'" which was recorded with Frankie Trumbauer and Eddie Lang.

Bix Beiderbecke performed the composition on piano accompanied by Roy Bargy and Lennie Hayton at Carnegie Hall on October 7, 1928 at a jazz concert presented by Paul Whiteman.

Style

"In a Mist" mixes elements of late impressionism with early jazz. While written in C-major, the piece is heavily chromatic. Bix mostly plays on the fourth and fifth, often inserting sharp or flat accidentals, while avoiding the tonic to increase tension. Harmonically, the piece features melancholic, rich chords; the swing tempo gives the piece a zippy, joyful quality. These tensions drive the piece, finally settling on a hopeful C-major.

Cover versions

References

• Bix: Man and Legend by Richard M. Sudhalter & Philip R. Evens, Quartet, 1974.
• Bix: The Definitive Biography of a Jazz Legend by Jean Pierre Lion with the assistance of Gabriella Page-Fort, Michael B. Heckman and Norman Field, Continuum Publishers, New York/London, 2004.
• Remembering Bix by Ralph Berton, Harper & Row, 1974.
• Bix Beiderbecke by Burnett James, Cassell & Co, Ltd., 1959.
• "Our Language." Episode 3, Jazz (television miniseries) by Ken Burns, PBS Home Video/Warner Home Video, 2001.
• Leon "Bix" Beiderbecke. Red Hot Jazz.com.
• Pops: Paul Whiteman, King of Jazz by Thomas A. DeLong, New Century Publishers, 1983,

External links

• Recordings: In a Mist at the Wayback Machine (archived 2012-11-04)

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