Charles Reed Biddle, (July 28, 1926 – February 5, 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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

bassist. He lived most of his life in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, organizing and performing in jazz music events.

Early life and education

Biddle was born and grew up in West

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. Sinc ...

. He joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

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 state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

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". The male form is Stephen. Forms of Stephanie in other languages include the German "Stefanie", the Italian, Czech, Polish, and Russian "St ...

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 Sadik Hakim (born Forrest Argonne Thornton; July 15, 1919 – June 20, 1983) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Early life Forrest Argonne Thornton was born on July 15, 1919 in Duluth, Minnesota. The name Argonne came from the World War ...

, and

Stan Patrick Stanley Augustus Patrick (May 5, 1922 – January 1, 2000) was an American National Basketball Association player. Patrick played collegiate basketball at Santa Clara University before World War II. His roommate at Santa Clara was future Neva ...

in local Montreal nightclubs. He became a promoter, and booked musicians

Johnny Hodges Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American 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 soprano ...

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 ...

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 ...

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...

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, double ...

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. ...

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". Biography Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan, U ...

to perform in Montreal. He performed occasionally with guitarist Nelson Symonds 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 ( 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 fest ...

, 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'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...

film ''

The Whole Nine Yards "The whole nine yards" or "the full nine yards" is a colloquial American English phrase meaning "everything, the whole lot" or, when used as an adjective, "all the way", as in, "The Army came out and gave us the whole nine yards on how they use ...

'' 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 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 Conservat ...

, 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 Theodore Curson (June 3, 1935 – November 4, 2012) was an American jazz trumpeter. Life and career Curson was born in Philadelphia. He became interested in playing trumpet after watching a newspaper salesman play a silver trumpet. Curson's fath ...

, 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 (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

, the highest civilian honour given in Canada

in 2003, and was honored with the

Prix Calixa-Lavallée Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who als ...

in 2003. The

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society (french: Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste) is an institution in Quebec dedicated to the protection of Quebec francophone interests and to the promotion of Quebec sovereignism. It is known as the oldest patriotic assoc ...

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 cap ...

) * 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; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...