Charles Reed Biddle, (July 28, 1926 – February 4, 2003) was an American-Canadian

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

bassist. He lived most of his life in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, organizing and performing in jazz music events.

Early life and education

Biddle was born and grew up in West

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

on January 26, 1945, and served in China, India and Burma during World War II. After the war, he studied music at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

in Philadelphia, where he started playing bass.

Career

In 1948, Biddle arrived in Montreal while touring with Vernon Isaac's Three Jacks and a Jill. Biddle was impressed by the fact that in Canada, particularly Quebec, black jazz musicians often played alongside white jazz musicians as friends and bandmates. He decided to settle down in Montreal, and fell in love with a French-Canadian woman, Constance. The two eventually married and raised three daughters – Sonya,

Stephanie Stephanie is a female name that comes from the Greek name Στέφανος (Stephanos) meaning "crown, wreath, garland". The male form is Stephen. Forms of Stephanie in other languages include the German "Stefanie", the Italian, Czech, Pol ...

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. He became a promoter, and booked musicians

Johnny Hodges Johnny Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophone, alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on sop ...

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

Pepper Adams Park Frederick "Pepper" Adams III (October 8, 1930 – September 10, 1986) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist and composer. He composed 42 pieces, was the leader on eighteen albums spanning 28 years, and participated in 600 sessions as a s ...

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Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, doub ...

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and

Thad Jones Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 20, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists". Early life, family and education Thad Jones was born i ...

to perform in Montreal. He performed occasionally with guitarist Nelson Symonds and drummer Norman Marshall Villeneuve between 1959 and 1978. Between 1961 and 1963 the pair performed together under Biddle's leadership at Dunn's and La Tête de l'Art, 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. Biddle was a 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 The Festival international de Jazz de Montréal is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Jazz Fest holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world's largest jazz festival. Every year it features roughly 3,000 ar ...

, which became the world's largest jazz festival. In 1981 he lent his name to a jazz club called Biddle's, on Aylmer Street in downtown Montreal, where he frequently performed. The club (now known as ''House of Jazz'') and was featured in the

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting (TV series), Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and has appeared in over one hundred films, gaining ...

film '' The Whole Nine Yards'' with his daughter Stephanie Biddle on vocals. When performing at the club he introduced himself as 'Charlie Biddle on the fiddle', and led trios on a regular basis, along with pianists Oliver Jones, Steve Holt, Wray Downes, and Jon Ballantyne. Biddle became a Canadian citizen in 2000. 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. Biddle recorded LPs with Milt Sealey, Ted Curson, and Oliver Jones. He also performed on the big-screen in the feature films ''The Whole Nine Yards'', 2000; The Moderns, 1988; and the French-Canadian film ''Les Portes Tournantes'', 1988.

Awards

In 1989, Biddle received the Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award for his artistic discipline in jazz music. Biddle received the Oscar Peterson Prize in 2000, was named an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

, the highest civilian honour given in Canada

in 2003, and was honored with the Prix Calixa-Lavallée in 2003. The

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society (, ) is an institution in the Canadian province of Quebec dedicated to the protection of Quebec francophone interests and to the promotion of Quebec sovereignism. It is known as the oldest patriotic association in ...

stated that: "Without him, Québecers might not have developed their love for jazz that has made

a host of one of the greatest jazz festivals in the world."

Discography

* 1962 Ted Curson, ''Live at La Tête de L'Art'' (Trans World Records) * 1991 ''Charlie'' (

Unidisc Unidisc Music is a Canadian independent record label. The label is known for releasing rare music, that was made between the mid-1960s and late 1980s. Genres include rock, electronic, funk, soul, hip hop, jazz, reggae, Latin, disco and a cappel ...

) * 2002 ''In Good Company'' ( Justin Time) * 2007 ''Oliver Jones & Charlie Biddle: Live at Festival International de Jazz de Montreal'' (Justin Time)

References

Charlie Biddle at All About Jazz

External links

Justin Time Records profileThe Last Post obituaryCharlie Biddle
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...