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Charlie Biddle
Charles Reed Biddle, (July 28, 1926 – February 5, 2003) was an American-Canadian jazz bassist. He lived most of his life in Montreal, organizing and performing in jazz music events. Early life and education Biddle was born and grew up in West Philadelphia. He joined the United States Army on January 26, 1945, and served in China, India and Burma during World War II. After the war, he studied music at Temple University 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 and Tracy – and a son, Charles Biddle Jr. Biddle was employed as a car sal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since 1854, the city has been coextensive with Philadelphia County, the most populous county in Pennsylvania and the urban core of the Delaware Valley, the nation's seventh-largest and one of world's largest metropolitan regions, with 6.245 million residents . The city's population at the 2020 census was 1,603,797, and over 56 million people live within of Philadelphia. Philadelphia was founded in 1682 by William Penn, an English Quaker. The city served as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony during the British colonial era and went on to play a historic and vital role as the central meeting place for the nation's founding fathers whose plans and actions in Philadelphia ultimately inspired the American Revolution and the nation's inde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pro ..., bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and raised in North Carolina, Coltrane moved to Philadelphia after graduating high school, where he studied music. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of Modal jazz, modes and was one of the players at the forefront of free jazz. He led at least fifty recording sessions and appeared on many albums by other musicians, including trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist Thelonious Monk. Over the course of his career, Coltrane's music t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jon Ballantyne
Jon Ballantyne (born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada) is a pianist and composer who resides in the New York area. Career Ballantyne started playing piano at an early age and began formal study at the age of six. His father Fred is a pianist and both parents are jazz enthusiasts and exposed him to the recordings of Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans and Duke Ellington. His mother took him to an Oscar Peterson concert when he was six-years-old. He studied classical piano and played in a garage-band when he was a teenager. He attended high school at City Park Collegiate Institute, (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan). He attended North Texas State University, where he played with visiting musicians such as Nat Adderley, Michael Brecker, Ron Carter, Peter Erskine, Joe Henderson, Elvin Jones, Dianne Reeves. Bob Mintzer, and Emily Remler. At the Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada, he worked played with John Abercrombie, Karl Berger, Ed Blackwell, Steve Coleman, Dave Holland, Lee Ko ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wray Downes
Wray Downes (January 14, 1931 – March 19, 2020) was a Canadian jazz pianist. Downes was born in Toronto. He was classically trained, having studied at Trinity College, London, but began playing jazz in 1952 as a student at the Paris Conservatoire. While in France, he played with Sidney Bechet and Bill Coleman. After returning to Canada in the middle of the decade, he played with Oscar Peterson and was a recurring house pianist at the Town Tavern in Toronto, playing with Roy Eldridge, Coleman Hawkins, Clark Terry, and Lester Young. He played for many years with Peter Appleyard and Dave Young, and also worked with Archie Alleyne, Pete Magadini, Buddy Tate, and Dave Turner. He died on March 19, 2020 in Montreal. References *Mark Miller, "Wray Downes". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. 2nd edition, ed. Barry Kernfeld Barry Dean Kernfeld (born August 11, 1950) is an American musicologist and jazz saxophonist who has researched and published extensively about the history ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steve Holt (Canadian Musician)
Steve Holt (born 1954) is a Canadian jazz pianist. Early life and education Born in Montreal, Quebec, in 1954, Holt exhibited musical ability in early childhood, playing piano at the age of four. By the time he was a teenager, Holt was a regular on the Montreal club scene. Holt remained self-taught until he entered McGill University. There, he was taught by pianist Armas Maiste, whose bebop playing influenced him. Holt also became a student of Kenny Barron, traveling regularly to New York City for private lessons with the pianist. Holt graduated from McGill in 1981 with that university's first Bachelor of Music major in Jazz Performance, and taught jazz improvisation there. Later life and career In 1983, Holt's debut album, ''The Lion's Eyes'', was released. It was nominated for a Juno Award. He has worked with jazz musicians Larry Coryell, Eddie Henderson, and Archie Shepp. Holt moved to Toronto in 1987 and worked as an equity analyst A financial analyst is a professional, un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oliver Jones (pianist)
Oliver Theophilus Jones, (born September 11, 1934 in Little Burgundy, Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian jazz pianist, organist, composer and arranger. Musical career Born to Barbadian parents, Oliver Jones began his career as a pianist at the age of five, studying with Mme Bonner in Little Burgundy's Union United Church, made famous by Trevor W. Payne's Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir. He continued to develop his talent through his studies with Oscar Peterson's sister, Daisy Peterson Sweeney, starting at eight years old. In addition to performing at Union United Church when he was a child, he also performed a solo novelty act at the Cafe St. Michel as well as other clubs and theaters in the Montreal area. "I had a trick piano act, dancing, doing the splits, playing from underneath the piano, or with a sheet over the keys." He started his early touring in Vermont and Quebec with a band called Bandwagon, and in 1953–63 played mainly in the Montreal area, with tours in Queb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Whole Nine Yards (film)
''The Whole Nine Yards'' is a 2000 American crime comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn and distributed by Warner Bros. It was written by Mitchell Kapner and stars Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Natasha Henstridge. Its story follows a mild-mannered dentist as he travels to Chicago to inform a mob boss about the whereabouts of his new neighbor, a former hitman with a price on his head. The film was produced by Morgan Creek Productions, Franchise Pictures, Rational Packaging, and Lansdown Films and was released on February 18, 2000. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $106 million. A sequel, ''The Whole Ten Yards'', was released in 2004. Plot Nicholas "Oz" Oseransky is a likable Quebec dentist from Chicago, but is hated by his wife Sophie and mother-in-law. Oz's assistant Jill jokingly asks him to name a price to have Sophie disappear. Oz meets a new neighbor, and realizes he is Jimmy "the Tulip" Tudeski, an infamous Chicago ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero after his portrayal of John McClane in the ''Die Hard'' franchise (1988–2013) and other roles. Willis's other credits include ''The Last Boy Scout'' (1991), ''Death Becomes Her'' (1992), ''Pulp Fiction'' (1994), '' 12 Monkeys'' (1995), ''The Fifth Element'' (1997), ''Armageddon'' (1998), ''The Sixth Sense'' (1999), ''Unbreakable'' (2000), ''Sin City'' (2005), ''Moonrise Kingdom'' (2012), and ''Looper'' (2012). In the later years of his career, Willis starred in many low-budget direct-to-video films, which were poorly received. In March 2022, Willis's family announced that he was retiring after being diagnosed with aphasia, which affects language cognition. As a singer, Willis released his debut album, ''The Return of Bruno'', in 1987, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montreal International Jazz Festival
The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal ( en, Montreal International Jazz Festival) 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 artists from 30-odd countries, more than 650 concerts (including 450 free outdoor performances), and welcomes over 2 million visitors (12.5% of whom are tourists) as well as 300 accredited journalists. The festival takes place at 20 different stages, which include free outdoor stages and indoor concert halls. A major part of the city's downtown core is closed to traffic for ten days, as free outdoor shows are open to the public and held on many stages at the same time, from noon until midnight. The "festival's Big Event concerts typically draw between 100,000 and 150,000 people", and can occasionally exceed 200,000. Shows are held in a wide variety of venues, from relatively small jazz clubs to th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nelson Symonds
Nelson Symonds (September 24, 1933 – October 11, 2008) was a Canadian jazz guitarist born in Upper Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia. Biography After pursuing the banjo at a young age, Symonds switched to the guitar. He gained his first performance experience touring on a travelling carnival from 1955 to 1958 throughout the United States. Upon returning to Canada, Symonds settled in Montreal in 1958 and played in the group 'The Stablemates' led by Alfie Wade Jr. During the 1960s and 1970s Symonds played mainly with bassist Charlie Biddle and drummer Norman Marshall Villeneuve at venues such as The Black Bottom and Rockhead's Paradise. During the 1970s, Symonds and Biddle performed as a duo in numerous Laurentian resorts. Throughout his 30-plus year career, he played at all of the major jazz venues in Montreal including Upstairs, Biddles and Cafe La Bohème among others. Symonds reportedly resisted recording until the 1990s, cutting three collaborative albums, and one as leader. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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". Biography Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan, United States, to Henry and Olivia Jones, a musical family of 10 (an older brother was pianist Hank Jones and a younger brother was drummer Elvin Jones). A self-taught musician, Thad began performing professionally at the age of 16. He served in U.S. Army bands during World War II (1943–46). After his military service, which included an association with the U.S. Military School of Music and working with area bands in Des Moines and Oklahoma City, Jones became a member of the Count Basie Orchestra in May 1954. He was featured as a soloist on such well-known tunes as " April in Paris", "Shiny Stockings", and "Corner Pocket". However, his main contribution to Basie's organization was nearly two dozen arrangements and compositions, which incl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy Flanagan
Thomas Lee Flanagan (March 16, 1930 – November 16, 2001) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He grew up in Detroit, initially influenced by such pianists as Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, and Nat King Cole, and then by bebop musicians. Within months of moving to New York in 1956, he had recorded with Miles Davis and on Sonny Rollins' album ''Saxophone Colossus''. Recordings under various leaders, including ''Giant Steps'' of John Coltrane, continued well into 1962, when he became vocalist Ella Fitzgerald's full-time accompanist. He worked with Fitzgerald for three years until 1965, and then in 1968 returned to be her pianist and musical director, this time for a decade. After leaving Fitzgerald in 1978, Flanagan attracted praise for the elegance of his playing, which was principally in trio settings when under his own leadership. In his 45-year recording career, he recorded more than three dozen albums under his own name and more than 200 as a sideman. By the time of h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
