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| | LEVEL OF DESCRIPTION: | Fonds | | No.: | PR0085 | | TITLE: | Dean Charles fonds | | CREATOR: | Charles, Dean | | DATE RANGE: | [195-]-[198-] | | EXTENT: | 219 audio reels. - 2 film reels : 8mm. - 2 film reels : 16mm. | | ADMINISTRATIVE | | HISTORY/BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: | Dean Charles was born in Olds, Alberta in 1937 and died in Edmonton in 1993. He had an aptitude for music and electronic technology. In the 1950s and 1960s, he helped develop the University of Alberta (U. of A.) and Uranium City radio stations. During his work as a researcher at the U. of A., he worked in engineering, physics, nuclear research, radioactive technology, bionic prosthetics, embryology, micro-electronics
and neuro-physiology. He pioneered early inventions and technological development in the electronic piano and electrostatic speakers. He also spoke at numerous international symposia regarding his work in the above fields.
Some of Dean Charles' hobbies involved music. He was a composer and professional musician, with the ability to perform on many instruments. His home was the site of one of, if not the first, recording studios in Edmonton, although it was not a commercial venture. He recorded music as a hobby, sometimes recording in his home studio and sometimes on the site of a musical performance
| | SCOPE AND CONTENT: | The fonds consists of 219 ¼" reel to reel audio tapes of recordings of various Edmonton area musicians, dating from the 1950s to the 1980s, which were recorded by Dean Charles. Some of the tapes were recorded in Dean Charles' home studio, and some were recorded at the venues where the musicians were performing, such as the Yardbird Suite and Convocation Hall. Some of the tapes are of experimental electronic music composed and performed by Dean Charles.
Fonds also includes two 8mm films of home movies and the MacMillan Bloedel Pulp Mill expansion at Port Alberni, B.C., as well as a silent film entitled Pianorama, which is a demonstration of an electric piano designed by Charles and features performances by Vancouver-based psychedelic rock band United Empire Loyalists and Edmonton-based rock band The Royal Family.
A fourth film is also a demonstration of a Charles invention, in this case a prosthetic cuff designed to allow amputees to play the saxophone. The sound film features a performance of a Dixieland jazz ensemble with one of the saxophonists using the prosthetic device.
| | GENERAL NOTE: | Biography supplied by donor. | | RELATED FILES: | Display FileList |
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