Charlie Christian

Charlie Christian cast such a formative shadow that nearly every jazz guitarist surfacing between 1940 and 1965 displayed a clear kinship with his approach. The first major practitioner of the electric guitar, he handled the instrument with the suppleness, assurance, and propulsive momentum of a saxophonist. Although grounded in swing, his melodic language was absorbed and adapted by bop musicians, an influence that surfaces unmistakably in players ranging from Tiny Grimes, Barney Kessel, and Herb Ellis to Wes Montgomery and George Benson.

Christian’s moment of visibility proved tragically short. After performing piano in local Oklahoma settings, he took up the amplified guitar in 1937 while studying with Eddie Durham, the jazz guitarist who had devised the instrument’s amplification. Producer and talent scout John Hammond, possibly tipped off by Mary Lou Williams, took note of Christian’s playing, arranged passage to Los Angeles in August 1939, and secured an audition with Benny Goodman. The clarinetist at first reacted to the guitarist’s rudimentary clothing, yet the two men’s impromptu performance of “Rose Room” immediately revealed Christian’s gifts. For the ensuing two years he enjoyed prominent placement in Benny Goodman’s Sextet, recorded two featured solos—including the showcase “Solo Flight”—with the full orchestra, and joined after-hours sessions at Minton’s Playhouse with emerging musicians such as Thelonious Monk, Kenny Clarke, and Dizzy Gillespie. All of his recordings, including guest appearances and radio broadcasts, are presently issued on CD. Stricken with tuberculosis in 1941, he died at age 25 on March 2, 1942. Another twenty-five years elapsed before jazz guitarists moved decisively beyond Charlie Christian.