Davenport Blues Brass Quintet - Digital Sheet Music

SKU: A0.1828307

“Davenport Blues” is one of the defining early jazz recordings — not just for Bix Beiderbecke, but for the entire 1920s Midwestern jazz aesthetic. It was:

Recorded: January 26, 1925, Gennett Studios, Richmond, Indiana
Released: Gennett 5654 (B‑side to “Toddlin’ Blues”)
Personnel:

Bix Beiderbecke — cornet
Tommy Dorsey — trombone
Don Murray — clarinet
Paul Mertz — piano
Howdy Quicksell — banjo
Tom Gargano — drums

Musical Architecture
The piece is fascinating because it isn’t a blues in the strict sense. Instead, it’s shaped like one of Bix’s own improvisations — lyrical, cool, harmonically fresh.

Form:
4‑bar introduction
16‑bar verse
32‑bar chorus
Verse + chorus repeated
2‑bar extended ending
This structure gives it a hybrid feel: part popular song, part jazz instrumental, part proto‑cool‑jazz cornet meditation.

It was the first recording released under Bix’s own name, marking his emergence as a bandleader.
The melody is often described as “a Beiderbecke solo turned into a composition” — a hallmark of his style.
It became a jazz standard, covered and reinterpreted for decades.