Fleming, Gordie
Websites:
No
Origin:
Winnipeg, Manitoba - Montréal, Québec, 🇨🇦
Biography:
Gordie Fleming: Master of the Jazz Accordion
Gordie Fleming (1931–2002) was one of Canada’s most accomplished and versatile musicians, celebrated internationally as a pioneering jazz accordionist. Born Gordon Kenneth Fleming in Winnipeg, Manitoba on August 3, 1931, he was a child prodigy whose career began on the Manitoba vaudeville circuit at age five. By the early 1940s, he was performing at Army camps across Western Canada and appearing regularly on CBC and private radio networks. In the years that followed, he would become a fixture on the nightclub scenes of Winnipeg and later Montréal, where he moved in 1949.
A gifted accordionist, pianist, arranger, and composer, Fleming's repertoire spanned jazz, folk, classical, world music, and popular standards. He was featured at leading Montréal venues including the Bellevue Casino, The Downbeat, El Morocco, and the Penthouse, and performed across Quebec, the Eastern U.S., and France. He gained early acclaim as a member of the Canadian All Stars, who opened for Charlie Parker at the Chez Paree in 1953. With the All Stars, he recorded for Discovery Records and topped the Canadian Jazz Poll from 1952 to 1955. In 1955, he placed second to Art Van Damme in the Metronome U.S. Jazz Poll.
Fleming’s dynamic playing style combined technical mastery with expressive flair. Ira Gitler called him "the top modern jazzman on his instrument," and he was praised by peers like Michel Donato, Guido Basso, and Jim Galloway as the greatest bebop accordionist of his era. He was a regular on radio and television in the 1960s and 1970s, contributing to programs such as CBC's Funny You Should Say That, Radio-Canada's Les Joyeux Troubadours, Jazz en Liberté, and Jazz Canadiana.
In addition to his jazz work, Fleming collaborated with prominent artists across genres, including Edith Piaf, Ginette Reno, Pauline Julien, Felix Leclerc, and Willie Lamothe (with whom he hosted a daily CKVL radio show). He composed and arranged for the National Film Board of Canada (including Catuor, 60 Cycles, and Where Eagles Fly) and wrote music for television series produced by Columbia/Screen Gems.
He also explored folk and world music, performing and recording with Ti-Jean Carignan, the McGarrigles, Cat Stevens, and Alan Mills, with whom he recorded several albums for Folkways. His interest in international styles led him to publish a "fake book" of global melodies, compiling music from over 100 countries.
In 1977, Fleming joined Buddy DeFranco on the jazz album Waterbed (Choice Records), a critically regarded session with Michel Donato, Pete Magadini, and Al Baculis. He later relocated to Toronto, where he remained active, playing at Bourbon Street and George's Spaghetti House alongside artists like Phil Antonacci and Gary Benson.
Fleming gave a well-received performance at the 1985 Montréal International Jazz Festival and appeared at the Montmagny Accordion Festival. Despite suffering a debilitating stroke in 2000, he continued to play with one hand until his passing on August 31, 2002.
He was married to singer Joanne Lalonde for 47 years and was the father of seven children. His daughter Heidi Fleming, a JUNO-nominated producer, compiled According to Gordie: Gordon Fleming Anthology 1948–1990, released by Just a Memory Records in 2004. The compilation preserves his legacy through rare recordings, including performances with the Canadian All Stars, CBC radio broadcasts, and concert collaborations with Buddy DeFranco.
His archives are housed at Concordia University in Montréal. In recognition of his extraordinary talent, Fleming is widely cited as the greatest jazz accordionist to emerge from North America. As Christian Marcon wrote, "Gordie is possibly the most accomplished jazz accordionist to come from North America... he easily measures up to the Scandinavian masters."
-Robert Williston
