Whitney Balliet, one of jazz's most poetic and respected writers, remarked on Bix Beiderbecke's distinctive three-dimensional sound, achieved despite the primitiveness of his recordings from the 1920s. Indeed, a certain amount of dedication on behalf of a 21st-century listener is handy when dealing with the sound of transferred 78s. But in the case of Beiderbecke the payoff from close listening is well rewarded. He was a legend in his own time and by the end of his short career he had worked his way up to the highest-paying band in the land, Paul Whiteman's Orchestra. Flashes of Beiderbecke's melodic brilliance and inventiveness abound on AT THE JAZZ BAND BALL on dates led by himself and others.