Charlie Christian (29 July 1916 – 2 March 1942) was an American jazz guitarist. Image File history File links photo of jazz guitarist Charlie Christian File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... July 29 is the 210th day (211th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 155 days remaining. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... Bonham is a city in Fannin County, Texas, United States. ... March 2 is the 61st day of the year (62nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... New York, New York redirects here. ... July 29 is the 210th day (211th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 155 days remaining. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... March 2 is the 61st day of the year (62nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... Jazz is a musical art form that originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States around the start of the 20th century. ... the very definition of a guitarist is cody allen and taylor hines because of there un ending guitar skills and awsomnes. ...

Christian was an important early performer on the electric guitar, and is cited as a key figure in the development of bebop. Left: Rosa Hurricane, a heavy metal-style solid body guitar. ... Bebop is a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos and improvisation based on harmonic structure rather than melody. ...

Biography

Christian was born in Bonham, Texas, USA but his family moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma when he was a small child. Both of his parents were musicians and he had two brothers, Edward, born 1906 and Clarence, born 1911 who were both musicians, all taught music by their father, Clarence Henry Christian. The elder Christian was struck blind by fever and in order to support the family he and the boys would work as buskers. He would have them lead him into the better neighborhoods where they would perform for cash or goods. When Charles was old enough to go along he first entertained by dancing. Later he would learn guitar, and inherited his father's instruments after his death when Charles, as the family called him, was 12. He attended Douglass School in Oklahoma City, and was further encouraged in music by instructor Zelia Breaux. Charles wanted to play tenor saxophone in the school band, but she insisted he try trumpet instead. After learning you get a disfigured upper lip from playing trumpet, he quit, and pursued his interest in baseball, at which he excelled. Clarence Christian told Charlie Christian biographer Craig McKinney in an interview in 1978 that in the 1920's and 30's Edward Christian led a band in Oklahoma City as a pianist and had a shaky relationship with trumpeter James Simpson. After a rivalry with a certain girl, Simpson had the urge to get even with the egotistical Christian. In 1930 he took guitarist "Bigfoot" Ralph Hamilton and began secretly schooling the younger Charles on jazz. They taught him to solo on three songs, "Rose Room," "Tea for Two," and "Sweet Georgia Brown." When the time was right they took him out to one of the many after hours jam sessions along "Deep Deuce," Northeast Second Street in Oklahoma City. "Let Charles play one," they told Bonham is a city in Fannin County, Texas, United States. ... Downtown Oklahoma City The State Capitol of Oklahoma From The South Motto: Nickname: Capital of the New Century Founded 1889 Incorporated County Oklahoma County Cleveland County Canadian County Borough {{{borough}}} Parrish {{{parrish}}} Mayor Mick Cornett Area  - Total  - Water 1,608. ... Official language(s) None Capital Oklahoma City Largest city Oklahoma City Area  Ranked 20th  - Total 69,960 sq mi (181,196 km²)  - Width 230 miles (370 km)  - Length 298 miles (480 km)  - % water 1. ... A street musician with accordion in Bremen A performance comprises an event in which generally one group of people (the performer or performers) behave in a particular way for the benefit of another group of people (the viewer or viewers, or audience). ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link is to a full 1930 calendar). ... “Sasquatch” redirects here. ... Tea for Two is the name of a song written by Vincent Youmans and Irving Caesar for the 1925 musical No, No, Nanette. ... Sweet Georgia Brown is the theme of the Harlem Globetrotters. ...

Miles Davis said he decided to become a jazz musician when he heard Charlie Christian on the radio.

Edward, "Ah, nobody wants to hear them old blues," Edward replied. After some encouragement, he allowed Charles to play. "What do you want to play?" he asked. All three of the songs were big in 1930 and Edward was surprised that Charles knew them. After two encores, Charles had played all three and "Deep Deuce" was in an uproar. He cooly dismissed himself from the jam session, and his mother had heard about it before he got home. Charles soon was performing locally and on the road throughout the midwest, as far away as North Dakota and Minnesota. By 1936, he was playing electric guitar and had become a regional attraction, and jammed with many of the big name performers traveling through Oklahoma City, among them Mary Lou Williams, who told John Hammond about him. Image File history File links Milesdavis3. ... Image File history File links Milesdavis3. ... Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991) was one of the most distinguished jazz musicians of the latter half of the 20th century. ... Official language(s) English Capital Bismarck Largest city Fargo Area  Ranked 19th  - Total 70,762 sq mi (183,272 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 340 miles (545 km)  - % water 2. ... Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Area  Ranked 12th  - Total 87,014 sq mi (225,365 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 8. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Left: Rosa Hurricane, a heavy metal-style solid body guitar. ... Mary Lou Williams (May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. ... There are two John Hammonds of note. ...

National fame

Benny Goodman

In 1939, he auditioned for record producer John Hammond, who recommended Christian to bandleader Benny Goodman. Goodman was important in that he was the first white bandleader to feature black musicians. He hired Fletcher Henderson as arranger and Teddy Wilson on piano in 1935 and in 1936 he added Lionel Hampton on vibraphone. Goodman hired Christian to play with the newly formed Goodman Sextet in 1939. It has been often stated that Goodman was initially uninterested in hiring Christian due to the fact that electric guitar was a relatively new instrument. But, Goodman had been exposed to it with Floyd Smith and Leonard Ware among others, none of whom had the ability of Charlie Christian. There is a report of Goodman unsuccessfully trying to buy out Floyd Smith's contract from Andy Kirk. But, Goodman was so impressed by Christian's playing that he hired him instead. Image File history File linksMetadata BennyGoodman. ... Image File history File linksMetadata BennyGoodman. ... John Henry Hammond (December 15, 1910–July 10, 1987) was a record producer, musician and music critic from the 1930s to the early 1980s. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. ... Theodore Shaw Teddy Wilson (born November 24, 1912 in Austin, Texas-died July 31, 1986 in New Britain, Connecticut) was a United States jazz pianist. ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Lionel Hampton with George W. Bush Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908, Louisville, Kentucky – August 31, 2002 New York City), was a jazz bandleader and percussionist. ... A typical Ludwig-Musser vibraphone. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full year calendar). ... Floyd Smith (Born - May 16, 1935 in Perth, Ontario, Canada) was a Canadian Professional Hockey Centerman who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres and who coached for 4 seasons in the National... Andy Kirk (May 28, 1898 - 1992) was a jazz bass saxophonist. ...

The story of their meeting on August 16, 1939 is notable. The first encounter that afternoon at the recording studio had not gone well, Charles recalled in a 1940 Metronome magazine article, "I guess neither one of us liked what I played," but Hammond decided to try again: without consulting Goodman (Christian says Goodman invited him, ibid.), he installed Christian on the bandstand for that night's set at the Victor Hugo restaurant in Los Angeles. Displeased at the surprise, Goodman called "Rose Room", a tune he assumed that Christian would be unfamiliar with. But, since Charles had heard it more than a couple of times, he came in with his solo — which was to be the first of about twenty, all of them different, all unlike anything Goodman had heard before. That version of "Rose Room" lasted forty minutes; by its end, Christian was in the band. In the course of a few days, Christian went from making $2.50 a night to making $150 a week. By February 1940, Christian dominated the jazz and swing guitar polls and was elected to the Metronome All Stars. August 16 is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full year calendar). ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... A mechanical wind-up metronome in motion A digital metronome set to pulse at four beats per measure at a tempo of 130 BPM A metronome is a device that produces a regulated pulse, usually used to keep a beat steady in musical compositions. ... Victor-Marie Hugo (pronounced in French) (26 February 1802 — 22 May 1885) was a French poet, novelist, playwright, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights campaigner, and perhaps the most influential exponent of the Romantic movement in France. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... A mechanical wind-up metronome in motion A digital metronome set to pulse at four beats per measure at a tempo of 130 BPM A metronome is a device that produces a regulated pulse, usually used to keep a beat steady in musical compositions. ...

Style and Influences

Lester Young

Christian's solos are frequently referred to as "horn-like," and in that sense he was more influenced by horn players such as Lester Young and Herschel Evans than by early acoustic guitarists like Eddie Lang and jazz/bluesman Lonnie Johnson, although they both had contributed to the expansion of the guitar's role from "rhythm section" instrument to a solo instrument. Plus, Christian admitted he wanted his guitar to sound like a tenor saxophone. Belgian gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt had little influence on Christian, but he was obviously familiar with some of his recordings. Guitarist Mary Osborne recalled hearing him play Django's solo on "St. Louis Blues" note for note, but then following it with his own ideas. By 1939 there had already been electric guitar soloists—the aforementioned Leonard Ware, George Barnes, trombonist/composer ("Topsy") Eddie Durham had recorded with Count Basie's Kansas City Six, Floyd Smith recorded "Floyd's Guitar Blues" with Andy Kirk in March 1939, using an amplified lap steel guitar, and Texas Swing pioneer Eldon Shamblin was using amplified electric guitar with Bob Wills. But, Charles Christian was the first great soloist on the amplified guitar. Image File history File links LesterYoung. ... Image File history File links LesterYoung. ... Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed Prez, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. ... Herschel Evans (born March 9, 1909 in Denton, Texas; died February 9, 1939 in New York City) was a tenor saxophonist who worked in the Count Basie Orchestra. ... Eddie Lang (October 25, 1902 – March 26, 1933) was a jazz guitarist, considered by many the finest of his era. ... Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on the use of the blue notes and a repetitive pattern that typically follows a twelve-bar structure. ... Alfonzo Lonnie Johnson (February 8, 1894 – June 6, 1970) was a pioneering blues and jazz singer/guitarist born in New Orleans, Louisiana. ... In music, solo means to play or sing alone. ... A Yanagisawa tenor sax. ... Jean Baptiste Django Reinhardt (January 23, 1910 – May 16, 1953) was a Belgian Sinti jazz guitarist. ... The St. ... Sir George Barnes (1904-1960) was a British broadcasting executive, who was a station Controller of both BBC Radio and later BBC Television in the 1940s and 1950s. ... William Count Basie (August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. ... Kansas City may refer to: Places: Kansas City Metropolitan Area Kansas City, Missouri, Missouri North Kansas City, Missouri, Missouri Kansas City, Kansas, Kansas Kansas City, Oregon Kansas City, Tennessee Or: Kansas City standard, in computing refers to a standard for storage of data on audio cassettes Deuce-to-seven low... Andy Kirk (May 28, 1898 - 1992) was a jazz bass saxophonist. ... James Robert (Bob) Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American country musician, songwriter, and big band leader. ... Generally, an amplifier is any device that uses a small amount of energy to control a larger amount of energy. ...

Guitarists who followed Christian and who were to varying degrees influenced by him include Mary Osborne, Oscar Moore (Nat King Cole trio), Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis, Jimmy Raney, Tal Farlow, and—a generation later—Jim Hall. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Nathaniel Adams Coles, known professionally as Nat King Cole (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965) was a popular American singer, songwriter, and jazz pianist. ... Cover of a Barney Kessel album. ... Mitchell Herbert (Herb) Ellis (born in 1921) is an American jazz guitarist. ... Tal Farlow was a talented jazz guitarist. ... Jim Hall is a programmer for the FreeDOS project and the original developer of the GNU Robots program. ...

Christian paved the way for the modern electric guitar sound that was followed by other pioneers, including T-Bone Walker, Les Paul, Grant Green, Wes Montgomery, B.B. King and Jimi Hendrix. For this reason Christian was inducted in 1990 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an "Early Influence." This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... For the guitar, see Gibson Les Paul. ... Grant Green Grant Green (June 6, 1935, St. ... John Leslie Wes Montgomery was an African-American jazz guitarist. ... Riley B. King aka B. B. King (b. ... This article contains a trivia section. ... MCMXC redirects here; for the Enigma album, see MCMXC a. ... The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at sunset. ...

Minton's Playhouse

Thelonious Monk, who played with Charlie Christian at Minton's Playhouse, developed a style similar to his.

Though known mainly for his influence on electric guitar, Christian was also an important figure in the development of bebop. His contributions at late night after-hours jam sessions at Minton's Playhouse in Harlem in New York City were landmarks in the evolution from the then-popular, radio-friendly, accessible swing music to the more experimental bebop. This transition is readily apparent in recordings of the partial Goodman Sextet made in March of 1941. With Goodman and bassist Artie Bernstein absent, Christian and the rest of the Sextet recorded for nearly 20 minutes as the engineers tested equipment. Two recordings were released from that session: "Blues in B" and "Waiting for Benny", which showed hints of bop jam sessions. The free flow of these sessions contrasts with the more formal swing music recorded after Goodman had arrived at the studio. Other Goodman Sextet records that foretell bop are "Seven Come Eleven" (1939) and "Air Mail Special" (1940 and 1941). An even more striking example is a series of recordings made at Minton's on a portable disk recorder by a fan named Jerry Newman in 1941. Newman captured Christian—accompanied by Joe Guy on trumpet, Kenny Kersey on piano and Kenny Clarke on drums—stretching out far beyond what the confines of the 78 RPM record would allow. His work on "Swing to Bop," a later record company re-title of Eddie Durham's "Topsy," is a stunning example of what Christian was capable of creating. His use of tension and release, a technique employed by Lester Young and later bop musicians, is also present on "Stompin' at the Savoy," included among the Newman recordings. The collection also includes recordings made at Clark Monroe's Uptown House, another late night jazz haunt in the Harlem of 1941. Kenny Clarke claimed that "Epistrophy" and "Rhythm-a-ning" were Charlie Christian compositions that Christian played with Clarke and Thelonious Monk at Minton's jam sessions. The "Rhythm-a-ning" line can be heard on "Down on Teddy's Hill" and behind the introduction on "Guy's Got To Go" from the Newman recordings, but it is also a line from Mary Lou Williams' "Walkin' and Swingin'." Clarke said Christian first showed him the chords to "Epistrophy" on a ukelele. Image File history File links Thelonious_Monk_1967. ... Image File history File links Thelonious_Monk_1967. ... Bebop is a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos and improvisation based on harmonic structure rather than melody. ... Improvisation is the practice of acting and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of ones immediate environment. ... Minton’s Playhouse is a jazz club and bar located on the first floor of the Hotel Cecil at 210 West 118th Street in Harlem. ... For other uses, see Harlem (disambiguation). ... Nickname: Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island Settled 1625 Government  - Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area  - City  468. ... For popular forms of music in general, see Popular music. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... A jam session is a musical act where musicians gather and play out of the blue, trying to accomplish harmony without prewritten music. ... Swing music, also known as swing jazz, is a form of jazz music that developed during the 1920s and had solidified as a distinctive style by 1935 in the United States. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... Kenny Clarke (born January 9, 1914 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania-died January 26, 1985 in Paris, France) was a jazz drummer and an early innovator of the bebop style of drumming. ... Tension and Release is an often used term for analyzing music, to describe how music keeps the interest of a listener. ... Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed Prez, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. ... For other uses, see Harlem (disambiguation). ... Epistrophy is a jazz standard composed by Thelonious Monk and Kenny Clarke in 1942. ... Thelonious Sphere Monk (October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was a jazz pianist and composer. ...

Demise

In the late 1930's Christian had contracted tuberculosis and in June 1941 was admitted to Seaview, a sanitorium on Staten Island in New York. He reportedly was making progress and Melody Maker magazine reported in February 1942 that he and Cootie Williams were starting a band. After a visit that same month to the hospital by tap dancer and drummer "Taps" Miller, who brought Charles some marijuana and a prostitute, he declined in health and died March 2, 1942. He was buried in Bonham, Texas, and a Texas State Historical Marker was placed there in the 1990's. Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for Tubercle Bacillus) is a common and deadly infectious disease that is caused by mycobacteria, primarily Mycobacterium tuberculosis. ... Staten Island, in yellow, lies to the southwest of the rest of New York City. ... NY redirects here. ... Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was (until its closure) the worlds oldest weekly music newspaper. ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... Charles Melvin (Cootie) Williams (1910-1985) was an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. ... Bonham can refer to: Bonhams, a British auction house Dr. Bonhams Case, a legal case decided in 1610 concerning the supremacy of the common law in England Bonham, Texas, USA Bonham (band), heavy metal band formed by Jason Bonham People: Helena Bonham Carter (b. ... Official language(s) No Official Language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ...

References

• Savage, William W., Jr. (1983) Singing Cowboys and All That Jazz: A Short History of Popular Music in Oklahoma University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma, pp. 48-51, ISBN 080611648X
• Goins, Wayne E. and McKinney, Craig (2005) A Biography of Charlie Christian, Jazz Guitar's King of Swing ISBN 0-7734-6091-8
• Lee, Amy (1940) "Charlie Christian Tried to Play Hot Tenor!" Metronome
• Broadbent, Peter (2002) Charlie Christian, Solo Flight - The story of the Seminal Electric Guitarist ISBN-10:1872639216 ISBN-13:978-1872639215 Hal Leonard, pub.

External links

• Charlie Christian at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Charlie Christian resource
• Transcripts & Music
• Music
• Photo Gallery
• Charlie Christian Pickups