Jazz' first entry in the "live fast, die young" category was Bix Beiderbecke. Rising out of Chicago in the '20s, Beiderbecke used his tinny little B-flat cornet to carve out a unique playing style that was all his own. Like Louis Armstrong, Beiderbecke defined a new way to play a horn and his recordings are textbook examples of the evolution of the jazz solo. Unfortunately, when he didn't have his horn to his lips, he usually had a bottle there, instead....

Increasing alcoholism and absences led to him being kicked out of the prestigious Paul Whiteman Orchestra, and to his eventual death at the age of 28. Columbia's two volume retrospective, Singin' the Blues and At the Jazz Band Ball, collect the best of Beiderbecke in several of the bands had played with in his all-too-brief career. (Karl Pallmeyer)