Charlie Christian

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.

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.

Packed with multiple takes that might scare away the timid, this is volume six in the complete recordings of guitarist Charlie Christian as compiled and released during the '90s by the Masters of Jazz label. It traces his path through various sessions which took place between December 19, 1940 and February 5, 1941, involving the Benny Goodman Sextet (with and without Count Basie), the Metronome All Star Band (see "One O'Clock Jump"), and lastly, Edmond Hall's Celeste Quartet. This little Blue Note band combined the musical personalities of Charlie Christian, clarinetist Edmond Hall, string bassist Israel Crosby, and boogie-woogie master Meade "Lux" Lewis, who knocked the stuffing out of the celeste, a keyboard instrument that mimics a glockenspiel but might sound to some ears like a well-tuned toy piano…

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…

One of numerous Charlie Christian retrospectives released during the 1990s by the Masters of Jazz label, 1940, Vol. 4 taps a particularly tasty portion of this legendary guitarist's work with the Benny Goodman Quintet, Sextet and Septet. On tracks nine through thirteen, an extra dimension is added by the presence of Count Basie and several members of his trusty Kansas City swing band, including bassist Walter Page, trumpeter Buck Clayton, and saxophonist Lester Young. This compilation also contains examples of Christian's work as a member of an octet backing sweet dance band leader Dick Jurgens' star crooner Eddy Howard (tracks seven and eight)…

Early jazz electric guitarist whose dazzling single note style unshackled the instrument from the rhythm section, immeasurably influential. It can be said without exaggeration that virtually every jazz guitarist that emerged during 1940-65 sounded like a relative of Charlie Christian. The first important electric guitarist, Christian played his instrument with the fluidity, confidence, and swing of a saxophonist. Although technically a swing stylist, his musical vocabulary was studied and emulated by the bop players, and when one listens to players ranging from Tiny Grimes, Barney Kessel, and Herb Ellis, to Wes Montgomery and George Benson, the dominant influence of Christian is obvious.

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…

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…