graphic story inspired by the life of a talented jazz musician driven to alcoholism in the 1920s. Lots of character layers, and cool visual storytelling that effectively captures subtle nuances without words (with one conversational stretch and some brief toplessness) - a few things are left up to the reader to fill in the blanks, but overall an interesting study/notable accomplishment. ( )

An artfully done biography of a Jazz Age figure of whom I was previously unaware. Apparently, Bix Beiderbecke didn't talk much, so Scott Chantler has chosen to tell his life story in a largely wordless manner with a single sequence of dialogue spread over twenty or so pages about a third of the way into this 252-page tale.

If you've seen an episode of VH1's Behind the Music series, you can pretty much predict how this tale of an alcoholic musician/composer will play out. But Chantler keeps it engaging with his marvelous art and it's simple format of a single row of five panels on each page. You can choose to "read" it quickly or linger over how much characterization and detail Chantler crams into each page.

I don't listen to much jazz. I listened to a recording of Beiderbecke's "In the Mist" on YouTube, and it seemed nice. I doubt I'll seek out more of his work or additional details of his life beyond what were on his Wikipedia page. But I will certainly seek out whatever graphic novel Chantler chooses to do next. ( )

Bix from Scott Chantler is a sparse yet moving graphic biography that I think will appeal very differently to different people.

I am familiar with both Beiderbecke's life and music. He was one of my father's favorites so from a young age I had heard his music and heard about his life. As I got older I read a bit more about his life and realized there is mostly grey with very little black and white about his life. Last year I read Finding Bix which was as much about sorting through the various legends and stories about him as it was a biography. I state all of this because I think to a reader such as myself, this new book serves as a powerful statement about Bix, his life, and his legend. For someone who has simply heard of and maybe heard some music of his, I think they will come away with a different feeling. And someone for whom Bix is an unknown will take away something else yet again.

To try to explain, I'll start with what I know, which is what I took from this book. The minimalist nature of the work, from basic drawings to very few words, leaves a lot for the reader to fill in. Knowing a bit about his life, or at least the dominant interpretations about his life, I saw in facial expressions and the placement of people and locations elements of Beiderbecke's life in stark contrast to what a typical biography, graphic or otherwise, might try to draw. The highs were, I think, that much higher for me and the lows were, also, that much lower for me. The images moved me largely because I knew his story for the most part.

For someone only vaguely familiar, or not at all, with Beiderbecke, I think the highs and lows are quite evident but where I filled in gaps with what I knew (or had heard) these readers will largely feel compassion (and sometimes anger or exasperation) with Bix and will want to learn more details to supplement this trip through his life. I do think these readers will still find enjoyment in the book, but not the same as I did.

I do find this ability to appeal to both sides of the coin to be a positive of the book. There are far too many question marks about his life for there to be a truly definitive biography. This works to utilize that fact for those familiar with him, so we fill in the blanks with the story as we believe it to be. It also works for those less or unfamiliar with Bix by offering enough story to frame his life and thus intrigue that reader and, hopefully, to seek more of both his story and his music.

I recommend this to anyone who loves jazz, music in general, and biographies of musicians. Just understand, this is not an in depth biography (I'm not sure there can be an accurate one) but it is an emotional roller coaster ride similar to the short but bright life of Bix Beiderbecke.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. ( )