Ed Bickert
Encyclopedia
Edward Isaac "Ed" Bickert, CM
(born November 29, 1932) is a Canadian
jazz guitar
ist.
; his family (parents and 5 children) moved shortly after he was born to Vernon, British Columbia
. Although their primary occupation was in farming and orchard
s, where the children worked as well, his mother was a pianist
, and father was a fiddler
. Young Ed learned to play basic guitar chords from his sole older brother. On the weekends during the 1940s, he joined in with his parents playing at country dances. After high school, he worked briefly before driving across Canada to Toronto, Ontario
with an aspiring writer friend, in 1952. He managed to establish himself in a few years, after a few non-paying jobs, and taking some formal guitar lessons, as guitar player for the leading jazz groups in Toronto.
Notable for his long association with the late Moe Koffman
and Phil Nimmons
' recordings, Bickert became a charter member of Rob McConnell
's Boss Brass. Playing with the rare American musicians who employed Toronto rhythm sections in local gigs, Bickert married, and eschewing the road, stayed at home and raised a family of his own.
A friendship with renowned guitarist Jim Hall
merited a recommendation to Hall's old acquaintance, alto saxophonist
Paul Desmond
, who was looking for a band in the 1970s. Desmond quickly felt a rapport with Bickert, and bassist Don Thompson
, who recorded some of their appearances at the now-defunct Bourbon Street club in Toronto, with two different drummers. Recordings from those sessions were released as "Paul Desmond Quartet LIVE" in LP format by A&M Records, and additional tracks were released much later on CD by Telarc. The sessions Desmond's enthusiasm for the guitarist's graceful choruses of chordal solos, and incomparable accompaniment gifts, forced him to record with Bickert state-side at Rudy Van Gelder
's studio with top musicians Connie Kay
on drum
s, and bassist
Ron Carter
—the album Pure Desmond was the result.
The guitarist's use of the solid-body Fender Telecaster
especially sets him apart from his peers, as he attained a warm full tone, enriching the chords.
Bickert made a few LPs with Rosemary Clooney
and other well-known artists through the 1980s and 1990s, as well as leading his own sessions. Although he did not formally teach students in one-on-one lessons, Bickert was a well known clinician and had many aspiring players attend his various workshops. Unfortunately, in the mid 1990s, a fall caused some formidable injury to both of his arms. Bickert recovered, and continued to play and tour until his retirement in the early 21st century, after the death of his wife, Madeline.
won a Juno Award
in 1980
for Best Jazz Album
, for their album Sackville 4005.
Bickert and fellow jazz guitarist Lorne Lofsky
won another Juno Award for the album This is New.
In 1996, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada
.
"At The Garden Party" w/Don Thompson [1979]
"At Last: Live in Toronto Canada 1976" [1976]
"Out of the Past" [1976]
"Mutual Street" w/Rob McConnell [1982]
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
(born November 29, 1932) is a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
jazz guitar
Jazz guitar
The term jazz guitar may refer to either a type of guitar or to the variety of guitar playing styles used in the various genres which are commonly termed "jazz"...
ist.
Early life
Second youngest of his family, Bickert was born in Hochfeld, ManitobaHochfeld, Manitoba
Hochfeld is a community in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It is located in the Rural Municipality of Stanley....
; his family (parents and 5 children) moved shortly after he was born to Vernon, British Columbia
Vernon, British Columbia
Vernon is a city in the south-central region of British Columbia, Canada. Named after Forbes George Vernon, a former MLA of British Columbia who helped found the famed Coldstream Ranch, the City of Vernon was incorporated on December 30, 1892. The City of Vernon has a population of 35,944 , while...
. Although their primary occupation was in farming and orchard
Orchard
An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...
s, where the children worked as well, his mother was a pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, and father was a fiddler
Fiddler
A fiddler is a person who plays a fiddle or violin.Fiddler may also refer to:*Fabrangen Fiddlers, an American musical group founded in 1971*Tupolev Tu-28 "Fiddler", a fighter aircraft*Fiddler , a DC Comics villain...
. Young Ed learned to play basic guitar chords from his sole older brother. On the weekends during the 1940s, he joined in with his parents playing at country dances. After high school, he worked briefly before driving across Canada to Toronto, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
with an aspiring writer friend, in 1952. He managed to establish himself in a few years, after a few non-paying jobs, and taking some formal guitar lessons, as guitar player for the leading jazz groups in Toronto.
Career
By the sixties, he was a first-call studio musician, there, osmosis let him apply a respected musical sense and developing modern harmonic approaches from old fashioned sensibilities with pick and fingers.Notable for his long association with the late Moe Koffman
Moe Koffman
Moe Koffman, OC was a Canadian jazz musician and composer. He played the flute, soprano, alto and tenor saxophone and clarinet...
and Phil Nimmons
Phil Nimmons
Phillip Rista Nimmons, is a Canadian jazz clarinetist, composer, bandleader, and academic.Born in Kamloops, British Columbia, the son of George Rista and Hilda Louise , he attended Lord Byng Secondary School, graduating in 1940. He then received a B.A. from the University of British Columbia in...
' recordings, Bickert became a charter member of Rob McConnell
Rob McConnell
Robert Murray Gordon "Rob" McConnell, was a Canadian jazz valve trombonist, composer, arranger, music educator, and recording artist.-Biography:...
's Boss Brass. Playing with the rare American musicians who employed Toronto rhythm sections in local gigs, Bickert married, and eschewing the road, stayed at home and raised a family of his own.
A friendship with renowned guitarist Jim Hall
Jim Hall (musician)
James Stanley Hall is an American jazz guitarist.-Biography:Educated at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Hall moved to Los Angeles where he began to attract national, and then international, attention in the late 1950s...
merited a recommendation to Hall's old acquaintance, alto saxophonist
Alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
Paul Desmond
Paul Desmond
Paul Desmond , born Paul Emil Breitenfeld, was a jazz alto saxophonist and composer born in San Francisco, best known for the work he did in the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for penning that group's greatest hit, "Take Five"...
, who was looking for a band in the 1970s. Desmond quickly felt a rapport with Bickert, and bassist Don Thompson
Don Thompson (musician)
Donald Winston Thompson, OC is a Canadian jazz musician who plays bass, piano, and vibes. Thompson formed part of the Toronto Quartet of Paul Desmond during the mid seventies, and that effort produced two stellar albums. Other personnel on those dates, mostly at Bourbon Street in Toronto, were...
, who recorded some of their appearances at the now-defunct Bourbon Street club in Toronto, with two different drummers. Recordings from those sessions were released as "Paul Desmond Quartet LIVE" in LP format by A&M Records, and additional tracks were released much later on CD by Telarc. The sessions Desmond's enthusiasm for the guitarist's graceful choruses of chordal solos, and incomparable accompaniment gifts, forced him to record with Bickert state-side at Rudy Van Gelder
Rudy Van Gelder
Rudy Van Gelder is an American recording engineer specializing in jazz.Often regarded as one of the most important recording engineers in music history, Van Gelder has recorded several thousand jazz sessions, including many widely recognized as classics, in a career spanning more than half a century...
's studio with top musicians Connie Kay
Connie Kay
Connie Kay was an American jazz drummer.Kay was a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet from 1955 until the group's dissolution in 1974...
on drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, and bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Ron Carter
Ron Carter
Ron Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that...
—the album Pure Desmond was the result.
The guitarist's use of the solid-body Fender Telecaster
Fender Telecaster
The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender.Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music...
especially sets him apart from his peers, as he attained a warm full tone, enriching the chords.
Bickert made a few LPs with Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House" written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian , which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 –...
and other well-known artists through the 1980s and 1990s, as well as leading his own sessions. Although he did not formally teach students in one-on-one lessons, Bickert was a well known clinician and had many aspiring players attend his various workshops. Unfortunately, in the mid 1990s, a fall caused some formidable injury to both of his arms. Bickert recovered, and continued to play and tour until his retirement in the early 21st century, after the death of his wife, Madeline.
Awards
Bickert and Don ThompsonDon Thompson (musician)
Donald Winston Thompson, OC is a Canadian jazz musician who plays bass, piano, and vibes. Thompson formed part of the Toronto Quartet of Paul Desmond during the mid seventies, and that effort produced two stellar albums. Other personnel on those dates, mostly at Bourbon Street in Toronto, were...
won a Juno Award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
in 1980
Juno Awards of 1980
The Juno Awards of 1980, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 2 April 1980 in Toronto at a ceremony hosted by Burton Cummings at the Harbour Castle Hilton....
for Best Jazz Album
Juno Award for Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year
The Juno Award for "Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year" has been awarded since 1977, as recognition each year for the best contemporary jazz album in Canada.-Best Jazz Album :...
, for their album Sackville 4005.
Bickert and fellow jazz guitarist Lorne Lofsky
Lorne Lofsky
Lorne Lofsky is a jazz guitarist in Toronto, Canada. He is currently teaching at York University.Lofsky started off playing rock music but took an interest in jazz upon hearing the Miles Davis album "Kind of Blue". Hearing this record was, for Lofsky, a musical revelation that led to a dramatic...
won another Juno Award for the album This is New.
In 1996, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
.
External links
- Ed Bickert biography with licks and transcriptions
- Sardine's bio page
- Ed Bickert profile with transcriptions
Selected discography
"Pure Desmond" w/Paul Desmond [1975]"At The Garden Party" w/Don Thompson [1979]
"At Last: Live in Toronto Canada 1976" [1976]
"Out of the Past" [1976]
"Mutual Street" w/Rob McConnell [1982]