Gordie Fleming

Canada's premier jazz accordionist, Gordie Fleming (full name: Gordon Kenneth Fleming) was born in Winnipeg on August 3, 1931. He began playing the accordion at a very young age, and by the age of five was already making the rounds on Manitoba's vaudeville circuit. He toured much of western Canada during World War II, also appearing frequently on the radio, and worked in Winnipeg nightclubs for several years afterward, playing piano and organ in addition to accordion. In 1949, he moved to Montreal and joined a bebop group called the Quartones (which also featured clarinetist G...