Black Bottom (Montreal)

1. Overview

The Black Bottom occupies a distinctive place in the history of Montreal jazz. Unlike the large, spectacular nightclubs of the postwar era, the club initially relied on an extremely modest formula: a basement, a few tables and chairs, a small kitchen, coffee, and above all musicians unwilling to let the night end. ^{[1], [2]}

Its founder, Charles Burke, had few resources when he opened the establishment on Saint-Antoine Street. Yet the Black Bottom quickly became a destination for musicians themselves. After completing engagements at other clubs, many would arrive with their instruments and join guitarist Nelson Symonds and his trio. ^[1]

By three or four in the morning, the distinction between performers and audience members could virtually disappear. The jam sessions drew both Montreal professionals and American musicians passing through the city. On some nights, there were reportedly more musicians in the room than customers who had simply come to listen. ^[1]

This role as a gathering place largely explains the Black Bottom’s reputation. It was not merely a stage: it became a social space where the musical community could meet, exchange ideas and improvise.

2. Little Burgundy and Montreal Jazz

The first incarnation of the Black Bottom was located at 1350 Saint-Antoine Street West, in the heart of Little Burgundy, a neighbourhood deeply connected to the history of Montreal’s Black community and to the development of jazz in the city.

The area was closely tied to the railway industry. For decades, many Black men worked as sleeping-car porters for Canadian railway companies. Their journeys between Montreal, Toronto, Chicago, New York and other cities also helped circulate records, ideas, musical styles and musicians.

Several important centres of Montreal’s Black nightlife were located near Saint-Antoine Street, including Rockhead’s Paradise. The Black Bottom belonged to this environment but developed a different personality, centred more heavily on extended jam sessions, intimacy and musical spontaneity.

3. Charles “King” Burke

Charles Lovince Burke, generally known as Charlie Burke and sometimes nicknamed “King” Burke, came from modest circumstances. He worked in the railway industry, including as a porter, to support his family. ^{[1], [7]}

Burke also had musical ambitions. He played drums and at one point considered becoming a professional musician, but operating the Black Bottom gradually demanded his full attention.

His approach to business was influenced by Black Montreal entrepreneurs who had preceded him. He particularly admired Rufus Rockhead, founder of Rockhead’s Paradise, whom he regarded as an example of professionalism, stability and respect for customers. ^[7]

For Burke, a club first had to be a trustworthy establishment: a place where musicians were respected, customers were treated properly, and sensationalism mattered less than the quality of the experience.

4. The Early Years at 1350 Saint-Antoine

When Burke opened the Black Bottom in 1957, he had, according to Pol Chantraine’s profile in La Presse, only about $200 at his disposal. ^[1]

The premises consisted of a rudimentary basement. Furnishings included sometimes-wobbly tables, folding metal chairs and worn benches. Burke also obtained various objects from the Salvation Army. Large colourful murals were used in part to conceal cracks in the walls and ceiling. ^[1]

The establishment therefore made no attempt to compete with Montreal’s large nightclubs in terms of luxury or décor. Its strength lay elsewhere: in its atmosphere, its music and the freedom it gave musicians.

Success came quickly. On weekends, lines could form outside the club. Its long musical nights also became part of neighbourhood life, as the music frequently continued well beyond the usual hours of other establishments. ^[1]

5. Soul Food, Coffee and Jazz

Food was one of the defining elements of the Black Bottom from the beginning. The original establishment’s menu included chicken wings, rice, black-eyed peas and Creole sauce, prepared by a cook known as Romeo. ^[1]

The club did not have a liquor licence. Instead, it served coffee, food and music. For approximately one dollar, a customer could spend much of the night listening to jazz; for a few dollars more, a substantial meal was available. ^[2]

The formula reportedly surprised even police officers, who found it difficult to believe that an establishment could attract such crowds without selling alcohol. ^[2]

Food, however, was not merely a secondary business. At the Black Bottom, the table was part of the club’s social life. Musicians, customers and staff shared the same space, often for hours at a time.

6. The After-Hours Sessions

It was often when other clubs began closing that the Black Bottom truly came alive. At around three or four in the morning, musicians who had finished their own engagements elsewhere in Montreal would arrive carrying their instruments. ^[1]

They joined Nelson Symonds and the musicians already there. Scheduled performances would then give way to freer jam sessions whose duration depended more on the energy of the musicians than on any fixed timetable.

By the end of some nights, there could be more musicians in the room than spectators. The Black Bottom thus became a natural final destination for Montreal’s jazz community. ^[1]

This dynamic also attracted American musicians visiting Montreal. As a regular stop on North American touring circuits, the city hosted many international performers who could hear about the Black Bottom from fellow musicians and discover the local scene after completing their own engagements.

7. Nelson Symonds: The Musical Soul of the Club

The reputation of the Black Bottom’s first era is inseparable from guitarist Nelson Symonds. A resident musician at the club for more than five years, he performed regularly several nights a week and stood at the centre of its celebrated late-night jam sessions. ^{[1], [8]}

Originally from Africville, Nova Scotia, Symonds settled in Montreal during the 1950s. Largely self-taught, he developed his musical language primarily through listening, encounters with other musicians and live performance. ^[14]

His reputation soon extended beyond Montreal. Musicians such as Oscar Peterson, John Coltrane and other leading artists took an interest in his playing. Numerous accounts describe him as one of the most extraordinary guitarists heard in Montreal clubs during the period. ^[8]

American guitarist Wes Montgomery himself is reported to have expressed exceptional admiration for Symonds after hearing him in Montreal.

Symonds also received opportunities to pursue a career in the United States. He nevertheless remained closely attached to Montreal for many years, favouring the daily practice of music and the freedom of the club scene over a more structured international career. ^{[1], [14]}

This constant presence explains why his role at the Black Bottom went far beyond that of a hired musician. Charlie Burke built the club; Nelson Symonds helped build its musical reputation.

8. 1967: Expropriation

In late 1967, the Black Bottom was forced to leave its Saint-Antoine Street premises. The expropriation occurred amid the large-scale urban renewal programs that were profoundly transforming Little Burgundy. ^{[1], [3]}

These changes extended far beyond the fate of a single club. Streets were altered, buildings disappeared and a significant part of the population was displaced. The community fabric that had supported many Black-owned businesses and gathering places was weakened.

For the Black Bottom, expropriation brought an end to the era most closely associated with Little Burgundy. Charles Burke, however, did not abandon his club.

Instead, he set out to rebuild it elsewhere.

9. 1968: Rebirth on Saint-Paul Street

In 1968, the Black Bottom reopened at 22 Saint-Paul Street East in Old Montreal. The new premises occupied a much older building that had once housed Sam’s Café before later being used as a warehouse. ^{[3], [12]}

Burke personally participated in transforming the premises. According to accounts of the period, he spent several months working on the space before it opened.

The new room was larger and more structured than the Saint-Antoine basement. It could accommodate approximately 150 people. Contemporary descriptions mention stone and brick walls, woodwork, stained glass and subdued lighting. ^{[7], [13]}

Food remained important, with a menu still inspired by Southern cooking: ribs, chicken, cornbread, beans and sweet-potato desserts. ^{[13], [17]}

The new Black Bottom nevertheless had a different identity. It was no longer simply Little Burgundy’s small improvised after-hours club. It had also become a fully developed venue capable of hosting major international engagements.

10. Jazz in Transition

By the late 1960s, Charles Burke wanted the Black Bottom to remain representative of contemporary Black music rather than become a venue devoted solely to bebop nostalgia. ^[16]

Its programming therefore expanded to include soul-jazz, blues, R&B and, in some cases, influences from rock. ^[7]

This evolution reflected changes taking place within jazz itself. By the late 1960s, many musicians were exploring new musical languages by incorporating rhythms, electric textures and influences drawn from soul and rhythm and blues.

The Black Bottom followed this transformation while retaining its fundamental principle: presenting living, contemporary music directly connected to the community that created it.

11. Miles Davis at the Black Bottom

One of the most significant episodes in the Black Bottom’s history was the 1968 engagement of Miles Davis in Montreal.

In a retrospective interview, Charles Burke recalled being contacted directly about booking Davis. According to Burke’s recollection, the offer involved a ten-day engagement for a total fee of $10,000. ^[18]

For Burke, presenting Miles Davis represented an extraordinary achievement. Davis was already one of the most influential figures in jazz, leading groups that included some of the most important musicians of their generation.

Burke’s recollection associates this visit with musicians including Tony Williams and Herbie Hancock. ^[18]

The importance of the engagement went beyond the prestige of Davis’s name. For Burke, his presence confirmed that a club that had begun only years earlier in a basement furnished with almost no money had become recognized by the musicians themselves.

12. Monk, Blakey, Muddy Waters and Others

The second incarnation of the Black Bottom welcomed several major figures in North American jazz and blues.

In March 1969, Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers performed there with a lineup featuring Woody Shaw on trumpet, Billy Harper on tenor saxophone, George Cables on piano and Scotty Holt on bass. ^[10]

A few months later, the club welcomed Muddy Waters. A review published in The Gazette in June 1969 described a performance in which Chicago blues filled the room, driven by guitar, piano, bass, drums and harmonica. ^[11]

The Thelonious Monk Quartet also appeared at the Black Bottom in late 1971. Monk was accompanied by Paul Jeffrey on tenor saxophone, Larry Ridley on bass and Thelonious Monk Jr. on drums. ^[9]

The engagement lasted six days, with three sets each night, and the performances sold out. ^[9]

Other artists associated with the Black Bottom include Roland Kirk, Woody Herman, Tony Williams, Eddie Harris, Trudy Pitts and numerous members of Montreal’s own jazz community. ^[7]

13. Charles Burke’s Vision

Profiles of Charles Burke show that he regarded the Black Bottom as more than simply a business. He placed particular importance on the way musicians were treated and on the relationship between the club and its clientele. ^{[7], [16]}

Burke embraced a form of respectability deeply connected to his experience as a Black entrepreneur. He wanted an honest, safe and welcoming establishment where the conduct of the proprietor mattered as much as the musical programming.

This attitude partly explains the loyalty of the club’s audience. Following the expropriation of the Saint-Antoine location, some of its clientele followed the Black Bottom to Old Montreal. ^[12]

It also helps explain the club’s particular relationship with performers. Food, conversations after concerts and Burke’s own presence created an environment that was less impersonal than many touring venues.

During certain periods, Burke continued to play drums himself. In 1970, he was notably associated with the trio Spirit & Truth. ^[7]

14. Closure and Nuit Magique

By the mid-1970s, the Black Bottom gradually disappeared from Montreal’s nightlife. The chronology assembled by the Montréal Concert Poster Archive currently places the end of the club around 1976.

The premises at 22 Saint-Paul Street East nevertheless retained their connection to nightlife. The location subsequently became Nuit Magique, operated by Bobby Di Salvio and Keith Du Mouchel. ^[4]

An article published in The Montreal Star in 1978 documents this later period and helps establish the historical continuity between the two establishments. ^[4]

Charles Burke eventually left Montreal. By the 2000s, he was living in Vancouver, where he worked as a carpenter. ^[5]

15. Historical Significance

The importance of the Black Bottom extends far beyond the list of famous artists who performed there. Its most enduring contribution may have been its role as a gathering place.

On Saint-Antoine Street, the club gave musicians a space where they could continue playing after completing their professional engagements. Nelson Symonds became a central figure there, attracting a community of local and international musicians around him.

The food, coffee and extended jam sessions further strengthened the club’s communal character. The Black Bottom was simultaneously a restaurant, jazz club, after-hours venue and social space.

Its history also bears witness to the upheavals that transformed Little Burgundy during the 1960s. The 1967 expropriation brought the first incarnation of the club to an end and contributed to the dispersal of an urban environment that had played an important role in the history of Montreal’s Black community.

The Black Bottom’s rebirth in Old Montreal nevertheless demonstrates Burke’s ability to adapt his establishment. The second era allowed the club to host some of the leading figures in North American jazz and blues while following the evolution of Black music toward soul-jazz, R&B and new forms of experimentation.

The Black Bottom therefore remains an essential venue for understanding the continuity between Montreal’s historic Black clubs, Little Burgundy’s after-hours culture and the professional jazz scene that developed over the following decades.