Charlie Christian

Charlie Christian - The Genius Of The Electric Guitar (1939-1941) {4CD Deluxe Set Columbia C4K 65564 rel 2002}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 836 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 674 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 31 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1939-41, 2002 Columbia / Legacy / Sony Music | C4K 65564
Jazz / Bop / Swing / Big Band / Guitar

First, a few myths get cleared up by the very existence of this box, which goes far beyond the original Columbia compilations with the same name. For starters, Columbia goes a long way to setting the record straight that Charlie Christian was not the first electric guitarist or the first jazz guitarist or the first electric guitarist in jazz. For another, they concentrate on only one thing here: documenting Christian's seminal tenure with Benny Goodman's various bands from 1939-1941. While in essence, that's all there really is, various dodgy compilations have been made advertising Christian playing with Lester Young or Lionel Hampton.

Charlie Christian's career was all too brief, lasting a mere five years. After catching the attention of John Hammond, who recommended him to Benny Goodman, he appeared on fewer than 100 sessions between 1939 and 1941, mostly broadcasts, plus a few privately recorded sessions issued on various labels over the years, in addition to his well-known studio recordings and with Goodman. While the music in this compilation has been previously available, this collection has to much recommend it. First of all, new digital transfers have been made from original acetates from the Jerry Newhouse collection, rather than relying on later generation sources. Frank Driggs' detailed liner notes provide a wealth of historical background and there are also lots of photographs. But the most important factor is the music itself.

In 1992 the Masters of Jazz historic reissue label initiated a nine-part series devoted to the recordings of jazz guitarist Charlie Christian (1916-1942). Volume one, which consists of recordings made between August 19 and October 31, 1939, opens with material harvested from Camel Caravan radio broadcasts emanating from the Hollywood Bowl and the Michigan State Fair in Detroit. These tracks feature the guitarist as a newly hired member of the Benny Goodman Sextet. Christian's first studio session occurred on September 11, 1939 when he participated in a Victor recording date with a band led by vibraphonist Lionel Hampton. On September 24, 1939 Christian was recorded while participating in a late-night jam session at the Harlem Breakfast Club in Minneapolis, MN…

Charlie Christian's tragic death at the age of 23 is a firmly entrenched fact of jazz mythology. On The Genius of the Electric Guitar, which consists of various tracks recorded with the Benny Goodman Sextet and Orchestra, Christian's revolutionary guitar playing is clearly displayed. In keeping with the era, each of these 16 songs is relatively short, with each soloist allowed only a chorus or two to make their statements. Paucity of time troubles Christian and his compatriots not a whit, however, and they let loose with concise, swinging lines. Of the other soloists on display here, Lionel Hampton and Goodman himself play admirably, but Christian is in a different league altogether, his sophistication remarkable. Exhibit A: his solo in "Rose Room." Logically constructed and rhythmically varied, it is nevertheless eminently singable…

Definitive's mini-anthology of classic recordings featuring pioneer electrically amplified guitarist Charlie Christian is an excellent core sample taken from his brief and eventful career. Note that Definitive has also issued what purport to be compilations containing all of Christian's complete live and studio recordings, as well as another more modestly proportioned sampler entitled The Genius of the Electric Guitar. Charlie Christian was like a will-o'-the-wisp, a strikingly creative sideman who appeared at studio sessions and live jams during a span of months only adding up to a couple of years before succumbing to tuberculosis at the age of 25 in 1942. On Definitive's Celestial Express, the guitarist is heard with various groups led by Lionel Hampton and Benny Goodman, with Edmond Hall's Celeste Quartet, and with the Kansas City Six (a band including Count Basie and Lester Young) at the second From Spirituals to Swing concert in Carnegie Hall.

Vol. 2 in the Masters of Jazz label's nine-part series devoted to the music of Charlie Christian focuses upon the studio, radio broadcast, and live recordings he made between November 4 and December 24, 1939. Most of these find him operating as a member of the Benny Goodman Sextet; the first version of "Honeysuckle Rose" (track seven) is one of the few recordings that feature Christian with the Goodman orchestra. Tracks 15 through 21 were recorded live at Carnegie Hall on Christmas Eve 1939 during John Hammond's From Spirituals to Swing concert. Some of the selections are performed by the Kansas City Six, a Basie offshoot band consisting of Lester Young, Buck Clayton, Freddie Green, Walter Page, and Jo Jones with guest soloist Charlie Christian…

Dozens of compilations have been devoted to the recorded evidence of Benny Goodman's brief but fortuitously well-documented collaborative friendship with jazz guitarist Charlie Christian (1916-1942). The producers of the Masters of Jazz series have handled the Charlie Christian story more meticulously than nearly anyone else in the business. Because the guitarist didn't live long enough to establish himself as a leader, he exists in history as the eternal sideman who also happens to have been one of the very first progressively modern improvisers in jazz. Volume three in the series takes on selected recordings made between December 2, 1939 and June 4, 1940…

On November 7 and December 19, 1940, the Benny Goodman Sextet made a series of records for Columbia that featured electrically amplified guitarist Charlie Christian. In 1994, the Masters of Jazz label raided the archives for every known take; many of these appear on 1940, Vol. 5, which is recommended for those who want to surrender to the wonderment of works in progress. With so many multiple takes including rehearsals and breakdowns, this is quite different from the standard issue Best of Benny Goodman collection. Tracks one through nine document the proceedings of November 7, the day on which Goodman and Christian, together with trumpeter Cootie Williams, tenor saxophonist Georgie Auld (who had obviously been listening to Ben Webster), bassist Artie Bernstein, and drummer Harry Jaeger collaborated with pianist Count Basie…