Nelson Symonds

After pursuing the banjo at a young age, Symonds switched to the guitar. He gained his first performance experience touring on a travelling carnival from 1955 to 1958 throughout the United States. Upon returning to Canada, Symonds settled in Montreal in 1958 and played in the group 'The Stablemates'[2] led by Alfie Wade Jr.

During the 1960s and 1970s Symonds played mainly with bassist Charlie Biddle and drummer Norman Marshall Villeneuve[3] at venues such as The Black Bottom and Rockhead's Paradise. During the 1970s, Symonds and Biddle performed as a duo in numerous Laurentian resorts. Throughout his 30-plus year career, he played at all of the major jazz venues in Montreal including Upstairs, Biddles and Cafe La Bohème among others.

Symonds reportedly resisted recording until the 1990s, cutting three collaborative albums, and one as leader.[4]

Symonds played a Gretsch Sal Salvador model guitar.[5]

Symonds died in Montreal, Quebec due to a heart attack at the age of 75, twelve years after undergoing a quadruple bypass that put an end to his musical career.

Symonds is the subject of two short documentary films by Mary Ellen Davis[8][9]

• Nelson Symonds Jazz Guitarist, (1984)
• Nelson Symonds Quartet, (1984)

• 1996: Oscar Peterson Prix De Jazz Award, Montreal Jazz Festival

• Jazz in Canada: Fourteen Lives, Mark Miller, Nightwood Editions, 1988, ISBN 9780889711167[10]
• Who's Who of Jazz in Montreal: Ragtime to 1970, John Gilmore, Véhicule Press, 1989, ISBN 0-919890-92-X
• Swinging in Paradise: The Story of Jazz in Montreal, John Gilmore, Véhicule Press, 1988, ISBN 0-919890-87-3