Charles R. Rice (March 1, 1920 – April 22, 2018), better known as Charlie Rice, was an American jazz drummer. Having played with Jimmy Oliver, Rice led the first house band at Philadelphia's Club 421, with a lineup including

Vance Wilson Vance Allen Wilson (born March 17, 1973) is an American former professional baseball catcher and current coach. He is the third base coach for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played all or parts of eight seasons in MLB. L ...

Bob Bushnell Robert C. Bushnell (1926 – January 31, 2016) was an American bass player and guitarist who has appeared on dozens of albums and singles as a studio musician, including Bobby Lewis's hit " Tossin' and Turnin'" (1961), " My Boyfriend's Back" ...

Red Garland William McKinley "Red" Garland Jr. (May 13, 1923 – April 23, 1984) was an American modern jazz pianist. Known for his work as a bandleader and during the 1950s with Miles Davis, Garland helped popularize the block chord style of playing in jazz ...

and Johnny Hughes.''Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians''
Retrieved 30 April 2013. After playing with

Eddie Vinson Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (born Edward L. Vinson Jr.; December 18, 1917 – July 2, 1988) was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and rhythm and blues, R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamed Cleanhead after an incident in whi ...

's and

Jimmy Heath James Edward Heath (October 25, 1926 – January 19, 2020), nicknamed Little Bird, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually co ...

's big bands (with

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 br ...

in both lineups) in 1951 he went with

Oscar Pettiford Oscar Pettiford (September 30, 1922 – September 8, 1960) was an American jazz double bassist, cellist and composer. He was one of the earliest musicians to work in the bebop idiom. Biography Pettiford was born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, United ...

, Rudy Williams, Clifton Best,

J.J. Johnson J.J. Johnson (January 22, 1924 – February 4, 2001), born James Louis Johnson and also known as Jay Jay Johnson, was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. Johnson was one of the earliest trombonists to embrace bebop. Biography ...

and

Howard McGhee Howard McGhee (March 6, 1918 – July 17, 1987) was one of the first American bebop jazz trumpeters, with Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro and Idrees Sulieman. He was known for his fast fingering and high notes. He had an influence on younger beb ...

on a

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

tour to the South Pacific, as part of a unit known as the "Swingin' Jamboree". The concerts were recorded and released the following year as ''Howard McGhee and his Korean All Stars, Jazz At the Battlefront Volume 1''. Back in Philadelphia, he led the Charlie Rice All-Stars. As well as playing with

Sonny Stitt Edward Hammond Boatner Jr. (February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982), known professionally as Sonny Stitt, was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his ...

Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Edward F. Davis (March 2, 1922 – November 3, 1986), known professionally as Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. It is unclear how he acquired the moniker "Lockjaw" (later shortened in "Jaws"): it is either said that ...

(again with John Coltrane), and

Leo Parker Leo Parker (April 18, 1925 – February 11, 1962) was an American jazz musician, who primarily played baritone saxophone. Early life Born in Washington, D.C., Parker studied alto saxophone in high school and played this instrument on a record ...

, in 1964 and 1965 he toured and recorded with

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

. As of October 2011, Rice was still performing. He died in April 2018 at the age of 98. He was buried at

Harleigh Cemetery, Camden Harleigh Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in both Collingswood and Camden, New Jersey. Harleigh Cemetery and Crematorium is one of the oldest cemeteries in New Jersey. Named Camden County Veterans Cemetery in 2007, the current presid ...

.Charles R. Rice
/ref>

Discography

;With

*'' The Most Important Jazz Album of 1964/65'' (Colpix, 1964) *'' I/We Had a Ball'' (Limelight, 1965) - 1 track *'' Baby Breeze'' (Limelight, 1965) ;With

and Eddie Davis *''

The Battle of Birdland ''The Battle of Birdland'' (also released as ''Tenor Battle at Birdland'' and ''Jaws N' Stitt at Birdland'') is a live album by saxophonists Sonny Stitt and Eddie Davis recorded at Birdland in New York City in 1954 and originally released on the ...

'' (Roost, 1954)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rice, Charlie 1920 births 2018 deaths 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century American drummers American male drummers American jazz drummers Burials at Harleigh Cemetery, Camden Jazz drummers 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Musicians from Philadelphia