Genius of the Electric Guitar

Charlie Christian | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000026C8
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,105 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Jazz Types Need To Loosen Up, June 19, 2003

By 

Former Archivist General of the United States (Bridgewater, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Genius of the Electric Guitar (Audio CD)

I like my Coltrane and Mingus and Monk too, but Jiminey H. Crowe, you can't give this stuff just 3 stars! This is Charlie Christian sneaking in the back door of the biggest stage available in popular music at the time and hi-jacking American culture from the facile and the banal back to solid musicianship, compelling (while seemingly effortless) syncopation, an expanded tonal palate without sacrificing a steady blues sensibility. It's not just complexity that bakes the biscuit. Complexity alone makes the girls yawn and go home. Here Charlie invigorates the blues while rocking the cradle of the Swing Era, rock guitar, and BeBop all at once, and even the great Benny gets taken to school. Three stars? Wake up!

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Let us see....., April 3, 2001

By 

Gregory Monk (Brookhaven, MS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Genius of the Electric Guitar (Audio CD)

Charlie Christian is an outstanding guitar player. His guitar playing is cutting edge and very modern. However, this record does not give you the full picture of his genius. This record is the most available Christian record, and if you go to the right shop, you can probably find it for a preety good price. So anyone interested in Christian should pick it up by all means. There are some great highlights on this disc, i.e. Air Mail Special, Solo Flight, and Waiting for Benny. Plus you get to hear some incredible Cootie Williams trumpet solos (man he is hot, see Air Mail Special, woo wee). Overall,you do begin to get an idea of Christian's genius. However, if you really want to experience the man at work, you should check out some of his "after hours at Minton's" stuff. Such as the "Immortal Charlie Christian". This record not only documents Charlie at his best, but you get to take part in the some very early BeBop. Alongside Dizzy and Monk, you get this all star band going at it the way they want. So, "The Genius of the Electric Guitar" is a good record to start off with, of course, but please check out other Christian stuff. You will not be sorry you did.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five star rating for people learning jazz guitar, January 6, 2012

By 

Dave Lincoln (DFW, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Genius of the Electric Guitar (Audio CD)

I'm a jazz guitarist that has been playing professionally for over forty years (ouch). When rating an album by a jazz guitarist, I rate it from a guitarist's perspective. To a jazz musician, albums are often viewed much like textbooks of jazz wisdom. When you begin seeking enlightenment in jazz guitar, you start with Charlie Christian. Why, because every one of the great 1950's jazz guitarists reported that they learned to play jazz from learning all the Charlie Christian solos. So, if you look at jazz guitar as "language", and all the greats learned it from CC, where else should you start? The great thing with CC is all his lines were very seamless, logically constructed, and outstanding building blocks to expand your language from. They were some of the best crafted solos in jazz history and play like really cool etudes. This is an essential part of any jazz guitarist's library. I also think that hipper R&B and blues players that are searching beyond the usual "box pattern" schtick will need to look here.