Charlie Christian - The Radio Broadcasts 1939-1941 'August 11, 1939 - June 11, 1941

Tracks list

Tracks

01. Flying Home
02. Rose Room (In Sunny Roseland)  
03. Dinah 
04. Gone with "What" Wind  
05. The Sheik of Araby  
06. Six Appeal (My Daddy Rocks Me) 
07. AC-DC Current  
08. Benny's Bugle  
09. Wholly Cats  
10. Honeysuckle Rose   
11. Flying Home  
12. Airmail Special  
13. Wholly Cats   
14. Ida! Sweet as Apple Cider    
15. Solo Flight 

Personnel

Georgie Auld	Sax (Tenor)
Count Basie	Composer, Guest Artist, Piano
Artie Bernstein	Bass, Bass (Acoustic)
Charlie Christian	Composer, Guitar (Electric), Primary Artist
Cutty Cutshall	Trombone
Nick Fatool	Drums
Benny Goodman	Clarinet, Composer, Guest Artist
Benny Goodman Sextet	Performer
Johnny Guarnieri	Piano
Lionel Hampton	Composer, Guest Artist, Vibraphone
Fletcher Henderson	Piano
Harry Jaeger	Drums
Lou McGarity	Trombone
Dave Tough	Drums
Cootie Williams	Guest Artist, Trumpet

When people hear the term "electric jazz," they usually think of fusion,
soul-jazz or crossover jazz. But the use of electric instruments in jazz
actually goes back to the late 1930s, when Eddie Durham became the first person
to record jazz on the electric guitar. Charlie Christian was right behind him,
but while Durham only played the guitar part of the time (he was also a
trombonist), Christian was a full-time guitarist -- and it was he who, more than
anyone, made countless swing and bop players want to play the electric guitar.
This excellent CD is full of electric guitar solos that were way ahead of their
time. Although Benny Goodman is actually the leader on these live performances
of 1939-1941, Christian is featured prominently on swing era favorites like
"Flying Home" and "Rose Room." All of these performances (which took place at
Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, and other venues) were broadcast over the
radio (during the this time, live broadcasts of swing concerts were quite
plentiful). You have to remember that in those pre-bebop days, jazz was part of
pop culture. Goodman, Glenn Miller, and other swing icons helped define popular
culture in the 1930s and early 1940s, just as the Beatles would define popular
culture in the 1960s. So, by hooking up with Goodman, Christian brought his
guitar solos to a very large audience. The improviser influenced everyone from
country honky-tonkers to beboppers, but, tragically, he didn't live long enough
to see how great an impact he had on bop guitarists -- his death from
tuberculosis in 1942 at the age of 25 came about three years before the bebop
revolution officially got underway. This fine collection paints an exciting
picture of a jazzman who, like Clifford Brown, remained influential long after
his untimely death.

 Alex Henderson 

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