Biography of Charlie Christian

He made his first records in the fall of 1939 and was hospitalized for TB in the summer of 1941; though he didn't live to see another spring, the music he had recorded -- live and in the studio -- immortalized Charlie Christian and influenced everyone who picked up a guitar in his wake. The Texas-born genius was a pioneer of amplified guitar and set the style for playing jazz on what was, in effect, a new instrument. A master of the blues and of sophisticated harmonic "changes," he was a tireless and creative improviser who loved to play in jam sessions. Recommended to John Hammond by Mary Lou Williams, he was brought to Benny Goodman's attention by Hammond, hired after a single hearing, and featured in a new Goodman Sextet. His solos were of necessity short on the 78 discs of the day. Fortunately, he was also captured jamming in Harlem (at Minton's and Monroe's), so we can hear him "stretching out." Every note he left us is a gem. ~ Dan Morgenstern