Bix Beiderbecke

Bix Beiderbecke is possibly the best name a man ever had.

I thought so all those years in the early mornings when I daily listened to Phil Schaap's radio program, "Bird Flight" on WKCR. Picture a guy holed up in Columbia's overflowing radio station for 25 years with records and papers about to fall on his head as he takes you each morning through take 1, 4, and 7 of Charlie Bird Parker's "Salt Peanuts," or somesuch piece. Please, you'll understand my love/hate of this show and Phil Schaap himself if you look here.

My favorite post from that site?

"Phil Schaap Drives me Crazy! Sorry, just had to get that out of my system. For the last 2 weeks (at least) on his program BirdFlight he has been going over in excrusiating detail (detail repeated ad naseum) the first Charlie Parker record date: 5 tunes. 5 tunes in 2 weeks of programs! each solo repeated over and over and over and over. And the tiniest detail repeated over and over and over and over....

Make him stop, O Lord: Please make him stop!"

I dreamed last night that Charlie Gibson was seated at the next table over from me in a restaurant and he was jonesing for a cigarette. Poor Charlie.