Customer Reviews

Genius of the Electric Guitar

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

Charlie Christian is an amazing guitar player by today's standards. Imagine what people thought of him in the 30's. He invented so much about jazz guitar playing and he is without a doubt the most influential guitarist of all time. Some really good songs on this album are Grand Slam and Solo Flight. I recommend this album for any one who likes jazz guitar at its best.

What a blessing to find and hear old American jazz by a great jazz guitarist. This is music you don't hear on the radio. This music is American history we need to hold onto.

Charlie Christian sin duda alguna le enseñó a todos los guitarristas,de que podía ser más que un simple instrumento de acompañamento,y transformarse en solista.Antes de él no había nadie tocando la guitarra así,y su influencia se puede comparar a la que posteriormente hizo Hendrix al rock'n'roll.Aparte su manera de tocar era tan simple.El própio Miles Davis dijo:el único guitarrista que me gustó,fue Charlie Christian,porque los otros no paran de tocar,al igual que los pianistas.

Charlie Christian was an innovator of Hendrixoid stature. He invented electric guitar improvisation, by virtue of realising that the fuller, richer sound of the amplified guitar was suited to a new kind of music. His influence on bebop has been confirmed; while he wasn't especially ambitious harmonically, he did have a supple and daring sense of rhythm that provoked people like Thelonious Monk (with whom Christian jammed) to make some of the most creative and fascinating music of our time.

A shame, then, that this is his most readily available testament. While the performances are all good, this is Christian in relatively restrained form, taking short solos on record dates with Benny Goodman (who ripped off many of Christian's phrases and turned them into credit without crediting their inventor), and Christian is better heard live. His invention was formidable, and I have a French live CD in which he solos without flagging for minutes on end. He was a genius, all right, but CBS can do better than this.

Charlie Christian was a masterful guitar player who inspired just about everyone that came after him. Check out "Solo Flight" and see why. This is an essential CD for any collection.

Charlie Christian is one of the fathers of the electrical guitar. I'd never heard much of his music before I bought this CD. I'd heard some of the stuff he did with the big bands, but that was about it. I wasn't disappointed with this one. Surprisingly, the quality is excellent. I don't think the cover photo does Charlie justice. I've always heard that he was a great solo guitar player, but a horrible dresser.

This is a classic. A must have in your collection. Get it and get it now