Biddle's Jazz & Ribs (Montreal)

1. Overview

For more than two decades, Biddle's Jazz & Ribs was one of the downtown Montreal addresses most closely associated with jazz. Located at 2060 Aylmer Street, near President-Kennedy Avenue, the establishment combined a restaurant, bar and performance venue in a format in which music occupied a central place. ^[1]

Its history rests on the meeting of two men with very different backgrounds. Georges Durst was a prolific entrepreneur in Montreal's restaurant and nightlife industries. Charlie Biddle, meanwhile, was an American bassist who had settled in Montreal in 1948 and over the decades became an important figure in the city's jazz community. ^{[2], [4]}

Durst brought his experience as a restaurateur, his flair for décor and his ability to develop distinctive concepts. Biddle brought his name, his network of musicians and, above all, a regular presence on stage. Their association gradually gave the venue an identity that went far beyond that of a restaurant offering live music.

For many musicians and regulars, Biddle's became a true home for jazz: a place where people came not only to hear a concert, but also to meet the people who made the music part of Montreal's cultural life.

2. Georges Durst: From Alsace to Montreal

In 1957, Georges Durst crossed the Atlantic for Canada. At 22, the young forestry engineer from Alsace was dreaming more about vast wilderness landscapes than the nightlife of a major city. ^[4]

Hired by Irving Pulp & Paper, he saw his first career abruptly interrupted when a major round of layoffs struck the company. He then found work as a bellhop at a hotel in the Laurentians. ^[4]

Durst subsequently moved closer to Montreal and became a bartender at the Troïka, a popular Russian restaurant. It was in this world of restaurants, music and nightlife that he discovered the passion that would shape the rest of his career: entertainment. ^[4]

3. Durst and Montreal Nightlife

At the age of 29, Durst opened his own bar, Don Juan, in partnership with Johnny Vago, a veteran of the business. The success of this first venture soon encouraged him to develop other projects. ^[4]

During the 1970s, he was associated with some twenty establishments and developed a reputation for creating spectacular décors and strongly distinctive atmospheres. ^[4]

Among the establishments associated with his career were Dominique's, where Gino Vannelli honed his craft, and Tiffany on Crescent Street, where Charlie Biddle performed. International personalities such as Joe Dassin and David Bowie also chose some of Durst's establishments for press events. ^[4]

With the arrival of the 1980s, Durst adapted his concepts to changing customer habits. Dining became increasingly important, while remaining closely linked to music and entertainment.

In Old Montreal, he developed three complementary establishments: Les Serres, a French restaurant featuring classical music; Le Bijou, where jazz, soul and rhythm and blues were presented; and the Monte Carlo, a private club frequented by such figures as Pierre Elliott Trudeau and Charles Aznavour. ^[4]

In 1986, the Monte Carlo became Zhivago, a Slavic restaurant where food, décor and music were all integral parts of the experience. Omar Sharif and his son Tarek attended its inauguration. ^[4]

4. 2060 Aylmer Before Biddle's

The history of Biddle's begins before Charlie Biddle's name appeared on the façade. Georges Durst operated an establishment on Aylmer Street, opposite the legendary Club Playboy, called George's. ^[4]

George's later became Maxwell. The establishment was notably associated with backgammon tournaments that attracted a fashionable clientele at a time when the game was enjoying widespread popularity. ^[4]

Around 1980, the venue was also known as Maxwell's Comedy Bar. This phase immediately preceded the address's transformation into a jazz club.

In October 1981, 2060 Aylmer took on a new identity that would leave a lasting mark on Montreal's music scene: Biddle's Jazz & Ribs. ^[1]

5. Charlie Biddle

Born in Philadelphia in 1926, Charles Reed Biddle arrived in Montreal in 1948 and chose to make the city his home. The bassist gradually became a familiar and important figure in Montreal and Quebec jazz. ^[2]

Over the course of his career, he crossed paths with major jazz figures including Oscar Peterson, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, Tadd Dameron and Lionel Hampton. ^{[2], [5]}

Biddle's contribution went well beyond performing. He also became a community builder, promoter and advocate for the local jazz scene. In 1979, he organized Jazz Chez Nous, an event often regarded as one of the precursors to the Montreal International Jazz Festival. ^{[2], [5]}

By the time Georges Durst developed the Biddle's concept, Charlie possessed something that no décor or commercial concept could create: genuine credibility among musicians.

6. 1981: The Birth of Biddle's Jazz & Ribs

In October 1981, Maxwell gave way to Biddle's Jazz & Ribs. The new concept brought together Georges Durst's entrepreneurial expertise and Charlie Biddle's musical personality. ^{[1], [4]}

An agreement signed that year authorized Durst to use the Biddle name for a jazz club in return for an annual fee of $5,000. The agreement explains both the name on the façade and the legal distinction between Charlie Biddle and the company operating the restaurant. ^[1]

In practice, however, Biddle's role went far beyond that of a spokesman or namesake. He performed frequently at the club, led various ensembles and became the musical soul of the establishment.

7. Jazz, Food and Dinner Shows

Biddle's developed a format in which dining and concerts were closely connected. Audiences could have dinner while watching musicians perform only a few feet from their tables.

The kitchen became particularly known for its Louisiana-style chicken and ribs. This Southern inspiration fit naturally with the club's jazz identity and helped give the establishment a recognizable personality. ^[4]

Music, however, was not simply an accompaniment to dinner. The club presented regular programming, sometimes with several sets over the course of an evening. Local musicians and visiting artists appeared there, while Charlie Biddle maintained a constant presence. ^[6]

This format brought together a remarkably varied clientele: jazz enthusiasts, tourists, students, businesspeople, musicians and regulars from Montreal's nightlife scene.

8. The House Trio

One of Biddle's defining features was the house trio led by Charlie Biddle. The bassist did not merely lend his name to the venue: he regularly took the stage and created a musical nucleus around which numerous musicians could gather.

Over the years, Biddle performed with pianists including Oliver Jones, Steve Holt, Wray Downes and Jon Ballantyne. ^{[2], [5]}

His association with Oliver Jones was particularly significant. During the 1980s, Jones was among the musicians whose careers developed within the Biddle's environment, and the club quickly became an important landmark on Montreal's jazz scene. ^[7]

Biddle also liked to introduce himself to audiences with the playful phrase “Charlie Biddle on the fiddle”, a humorous play on his name and his instrument.

9. A Home for Montreal Jazz

Over the years, Biddle's became much more than a venue where audiences came to see a scheduled performance. The regular presence of musicians made it a natural meeting place for part of Montreal's jazz community.

Established performers mingled with younger musicians, visiting artists and regular patrons. People came to play, listen, eat, talk or simply end the evening after another engagement elsewhere.

This social dimension was particularly important in a musical culture historically shaped by clubs and jam sessions. Biddle's offered precisely that kind of environment: a place where the boundary between the stage, the audience and the musical community remained relatively permeable.

Charlie Biddle stood at the centre of this network. His presence gave the venue an almost familial character: in the minds of many regulars, they were not simply going to Biddle's — they were going to Charlie's.

10. A Place of Musical Transmission

Biddle's also played a role in the development of younger musicians. The house-trio format allowed less experienced players to work alongside established artists and learn directly on stage.

In jazz, this form of transmission has historically been an essential part of learning. Listening to, accompanying and improvising with more experienced musicians provides a kind of practical knowledge that formal instruction cannot entirely reproduce.

The club therefore functioned as an informal school, where generations crossed paths and musical knowledge circulated through direct contact between artists.

11. Biddle's on Film

In the late 1990s, Biddle's received unusual exposure when it appeared in The Whole Nine Yards, filmed in Montreal with Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry and released in 2000. ^[2]

The club appeared under its real identity. Charlie Biddle himself participated in the filming, while his daughter Stephanie Biddle sang in the scene. ^[2]

The appearance now provides a valuable visual record of Biddle's near the end of its history, when the venue had already been operating under that name for almost twenty years.

12. From Biddle's to La Cage aux Sports

For Georges Durst, Biddle's also served as a commercial laboratory. According to the biographical account of his career, the popularity of the club's Louisiana-style chicken and ribs helped inspire a concept that would be developed on a much larger scale: La Cage aux Sports. ^[4]

Within approximately a decade, Durst developed 43 restaurants in the chain. His success earned him the title of “Best Job Creator in Canada” in 1987 and “Restaurateur of the Year” in 1993. ^[4]

His company was eventually listed on the Montreal Exchange under the name Sportscène. Durst also pursued business interests in real estate, finance, technology and film. ^[4]

An art collector, he incorporated many of his acquisitions into his restaurant décors, even suspending full-size aircraft from the ceilings of some La Cage aux Sports locations. ^[4]

13. 2003: The Death of Charlie Biddle

Charlie Biddle died in February 2003 at the age of 76. His death marked a major turning point in the history of the establishment that had carried his name for more than twenty years. ^{[1], [2]}

In the public mind, Charlie Biddle and Biddle's had become so closely associated that it may have seemed natural for the restaurant to continue using his name.

Legally, however, the situation was considerably more complex. The establishment belonged to Georges Durst's business interests, while Charlie Biddle's name and likeness had become a legacy that his family wished to control.

The disagreement quickly moved into the courts.

14. The Biddle Name Goes to Court

On June 23, 2003, Quebec Superior Court granted the Biddle family an interlocutory injunction preventing Club de jazz Biddle Inc. and Georges Durst from using Charlie Biddle's name and likeness in connection with the Aylmer Street establishment. ^[1]

The ruling was upheld by the Court of Appeal two days later. Justice Claudette Picard recognized the family's right to control the use of the deceased musician's name. ^[1]

The dispute publicly revealed the terms of the original arrangement: in 1981, Charlie Biddle had authorized Durst to use his name for a jazz club in return for an annual fee of $5,000. According to the family's lawyer, however, that agreement had ended several years before the musician's death. ^[1]

His widow, Constance Biddle, emphasized a fundamental point: the restaurant had never belonged to the Biddle family. The family wanted to protect the integrity of the musician's name and image. ^[1]

The dispute was ultimately settled in 2005. The family received $30,000, and Charlie Biddle's name and likeness were to be removed from the establishment's promotion. ^[3]

15. From Biddle's to House of Jazz

The change of name did not mean the disappearance of the jazz club at 2060 Aylmer. Beginning in 2003, the establishment continued its musical vocation under a new identity: House of Jazz, also known in French as Maison du Jazz. ^{[1], [8]}

The restaurant retained several characteristics associated with Biddle's: live music, dining and dinner shows. The décor, however, became one of the most visible signatures of the new era, with chandeliers, woodwork, stained glass and art objects. ^[8]

The programming remained strongly connected to Montreal jazz. Oliver Jones and Ranee Lee were among the artists associated with the venue's history. ^[8]

In 2015, a new House of Jazz location opened in Laval. In Montreal, the establishment also began using the name House of Jazz by Oliver Jones in 2018. ^[8]

On June 24, 2020, the permanent closure of House of Jazz Montreal was announced. The pandemic and the commercial difficulties surrounding it thus brought to an end nearly four decades of jazz at 2060 Aylmer Street under the Biddle's and House of Jazz names. ^[9]

16. Historical Significance

Biddle's Jazz & Ribs occupies a distinctive place in the history of Montreal jazz because its identity was built as much around a musician as around a physical address.

Georges Durst had the experience required to create and operate an establishment combining dining, entertainment and nightlife. Charlie Biddle brought something different: a presence, a network and a legitimacy that came directly from the musical community.

The result was a place where jazz was not merely programmed but lived on a daily basis. Musicians performed there, met there, developed their craft there and interacted directly with their audiences.

The history of Biddle's also represents an important chapter in the evolution of Montreal jazz clubs following the gradual disappearance of the great postwar cabarets. The restaurant-club format allowed jazz to maintain a permanent presence downtown in a new form.

House of Jazz extended that vocation until 2020, but the dispute over Charlie Biddle's name ultimately demonstrated just how inseparable the original club's identity had become from the musician whose name it carried.