Charlie Rice

Charlie Rice
Born	(1920-03-01)March 1, 1920 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	April 22, 2018(2018-04-22) (aged 98) U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Occupation	Musician
Instrument	Drums
Years active	1948–2018

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, Bob Bushnell, Red Garland and Johnny Hughes.[1]

After playing with Eddie Vinson's[2] and Jimmy Heath's big bands (with John Coltrane in both lineups[2]) in 1951 he went with Oscar Pettiford, Rudy Williams, Clifton Best,[3] J.J. Johnson and Howard McGhee on a USO tour to the South Pacific,[1][4] as part of a unit known as the "Swingin' Jamboree".[5] The concerts were recorded and released the following year as Howard McGhee and his Korean All Stars, Jazz At the Battlefront Volume 1.[6][7]

Back in Philadelphia, he led the Charlie Rice All-Stars.[8]

As well as playing with Sonny Stitt, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (again with John Coltrane[2]), and Leo Parker, in 1964 and 1965 he toured and recorded with Chet Baker.[1]

As of October 2011, Rice was still performing.[9] He died in April 2018 at the age of 98.[10] He was buried at Harleigh Cemetery, Camden.[11]

Discography

With Chet Baker

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

With Sonny Stitt and Eddie Davis

• The Battle of Birdland (Roost, 1954)

References

1. Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians Archived 2013-11-08 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 30 April 2013.
2. Porter, Lewis (1999). John Coltrane: His Life and Music. University of Michigan Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-472-08643-6.
3. "Jazz Group To Play For Korea Troops" 22 Nov 1951 JET at Google Books. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
4. Dicaire, David (2006-02-15). Jazz Musicians, 1945 to the Present. McFarland. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-7864-8557-4.
5. "Rhythm and Blues Notes" Billboard at Google Books. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
6. "Overview" allmusic. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
7. "Hot Jazz Record Reviews" Billboard at Google Books. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
8. "Rhythm and Blues Notes" 20 Jun 1953 Billboard at Google Books. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
9. "Jazz Bridge Presents Charlie Rice in Collingswood on October 6th" All About Jazz. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
10. Charles R. Rice Obituary
11. Charles R. Rice