Charlie Biddle

Charlie Biddle
Charlie Biddle
Charlie Biddle
Birth name Charles Reed Biddle
Born July 28, 1926(1926-07-28)
Origin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Died February 4, 2003(2003-02-04) (aged 76)
Genres Jazz
Occupations Double bassist
Instruments Double bass
Associated acts Sadik Hakim

Charlie Biddle, CM otherwise known as Charles Reed Biddle (July 28, 1926 – February 4, 2003) was a Canadian jazz bassist.

Contents

Biography

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, Biddle lived most of his life in Montreal, Quebec, however he did not become a Canadian citizen until his last years. After completing military duties in the US Armed Forces during World War II, serving in China, India and Burma, he went on to study music at Temple University in Philadelphia, where he started playing bass. In 1948, he arrived in Montreal while touring with Vernon Isaac's Three Jacks and a Jill. Biddle was fascinated by the fact that in Canada, particularly Quebec, you would see black jazz musicians playing alongside white jazz musicians as the best of friends. Impressed with the opened-mindedness of the people of Canada in matters of race, he decided to settle down in Montreal, and fell in love with a French-Canadian woman. The two eventually married and raised three daughters Sonya, Stephanie and Tracy and a son, Charles Biddle Jr.

Biddle was employed as a car salesman from 1954 to 1972, while performing with pianists Charlie Ramsey, Milt Sealey, Alfie Wade, Sadik Hakim, and Stan Patrick in local Montreal nightclubs. As a promoter, he booked musicians Johnny Hodges, John Coltrane, Pepper Adams, Bill Evans, Art Farmer, Tommy Flanagan and Thad Jones to perform in Montreal. He performed off and on with guitarist Nelson Symonds between 1959 and 1978. Between 1961 and 1963 they performed together under Biddle's leadership at Dunn's, La Tête de l'Art, etc.; and under Symonds' leadership at the Black Bottom from 1964 to 1968. As a duo they performed at several resort communities in the Laurentians between 1974 and 1978.

He was an important supporter and promoter of Jazz music in Montreal. He frequently organized outdoor festivals of local jazz musicians, particularly Jazz Chez Nous, a 3-day Jazz Festival in 1979 and another in 1983 which laid the foundation for the Montreal International Jazz Festival, now the world's largest jazz festival.

In 1981 he lent his name to a Jazz club in downtown Montreal on Aylmer Street (corner President Kennedy), which became known as Biddle's (now known as House of Jazz) and was featured in the Bruce Willis film The Whole Nine Yards with his daughter Stephanie Biddle on vocals. Biddle's club remained at the heart of jazz culture in Montreal during his lifetime. When performing at the club he would use the title, 'Charlie Biddle on the fiddle', and led trios at the club on a regular basis, along with pianists Oliver Jones, Steve Holt, Wray Downes, and Jon Ballantyne. He played at the club weekly up until the last months before his death, on February 4, 2003, in his Montreal home surrounded by his family. He did not become a Canadian citizen until the year 2000.

Biddle recorded LPs with Milt Sealey, Ted Curson, and Oliver Jones. He also performed on the big-screen in such feature films as The Whole Nine Yards, 2000; The Moderns, 1988; and the French-Canadian film Les Portes Tournantes, 1988.

Awards

Biddle received the Oscar Peterson Prize in 2000, was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2003, and was honored with the Prix Calixa-Lavallée in 2003. The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society stated that: "Without him, Québecers might not have developed their love for jazz that has made Montreal a host of one of the greatest jazz festivals in the world."

Albums and CDs

  • Live at the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, 1983.
  • Live at Biddle's jazz and ribs. Oliver Jones trio, 1983.
  • In good company, Downes, Jones, O'Neal piano, Muhammad Drums, Ring guitar, 1996.

See also

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Charlie Biddle — Charles Biddle Charles (Charlie) Biddle (né le 28 juillet 1926 à Philadelphie, Pennsylvanie et décédé le 4 février 2003 à Montréal), était un contrebassite de jazz canadien. Sommaire 1 Biographie 2 Citation 3 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Charlie Taaffe — Sport(s) Football Current position Title Offensive Coordinator Team UCF Biographical details Born April 20, 1950 (1950 04 20) (age 61) …   Wikipedia

  • Charles Biddle — Charlie Biddle Charles Reed Biddle, CM, (* 28. Juli 1926 in Philadelphia; † 3. Februar 2003 in Montréal[1]) war ein aus den USA stammender kanadischer Bassist …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Charles Biddle — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Biddle. Charlie Biddle Charles (Charlie) Biddle (né le 28 juillet 1926 à Philadelphie, Pennsylvanie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Stephanie Biddle — Articleissues COI = y peacock = June 2008 POV = June 2008Infobox musical artist Name = Stephanie Biddle Img capt = Img size = Landscape = Background = solo singer Birth name = Stephanie Andrea Biddle Alias = Born = birth date|1963|8|23 Died =… …   Wikipedia

  • Charles Biddle (disambiguation) — Charles Biddle may refer to: Charles Biddle (1745–1821), Vice President of Pennsylvania Charlie Biddle (1926–2003), Canadian jazz bassist Charles John Biddle (1819–1873), U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania Charles J. Biddle (aviator)… …   Wikipedia

  • List of people from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — The following is a list of notable residents, natives, and persons generally associated with the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the sixth largest city in the United States, although it is a undeniable fact that every person in the known… …   Wikipedia

  • Oliver Jones (pianist) — For other people named Oliver Jones, see Oliver Jones (disambiguation). Oliver Theophilus Jones (born on September 11, 1934 in Little Burgundy, Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian jazz pianist, organist, composer and arranger. He began his career as… …   Wikipedia

  • Oliver Jones — Oliver Theophilus Jones (* 11. September 1934 in Montreal) ist ein kanadischer Jazzpianist und Komponist. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Biografie 2 Literatur 3 Diskografie 4 Weblinks …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Argonne Thornton — Sadik Hakim (* 15. Juli 1919 in Duluth (Minnesota) als Argonne Dense Thornton; † 20. Juni 1983 in New York City) war ein amerikanischer Jazz Pianist und Komponist des Bebop. Leben und Werk Seine musikalische Ausbildung erfuhr Argonne Thornton von …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”