52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Half five stars, half three stars..., October 4, 2002
This review is from: The Genius of the Electric Guitar (Deluxe Box Set) (Audio CD)
This four-disc collection is an essential historical document. GENIUS brings together all available material recorded mostly by Benny Goodman's legendary 1939-1941 combo, in which the groundbreaking guitarist Charlie Christian was among the participants. The upgraded sound quality is amazing considering when it was recorded (as good or better than the recent Billie Holiday boxed set). As another reviewer mentioned, the packaging is odd...let's just say you may want to have some jewel boxes available to better protect your purchase.
The music here is often not that far removed from bebop, which revolutionized jazz a few years later. In my mind, bebop built on recordings such as these, rather than broke away from them as some would have you believe. Ironically (given the low opinion some jazz fans have of the rock genre), a number of these tracks also seem not far removed from 1950s rock'n'roll and r&b. Christian's inventive solos may sound quite familiar today--albeit still very fresh and provocative--given how far and wide his influence has spread. Imagine hearing it back then, though...when he was basically inventing this style of guitar playing. And he's not the only great soloist: Goodman and vibist Lionel Hampton are consistently impressive. Furthermore, among the guests on particular sessions are such jazz masters as Count Basie, Lester Young, and Fletcher Henderson.
Where the three star split-rating comes in is that there are two CDs worth of master takes included here (including the 20-minute closing jam session). I think the potential buyer should be aware that half of this boxed set contains alternate takes, fragments, and several rehearsal tracks, most of which vary little from the originally-issued versions. Certainly guitarists may want analyze Christian's playing on each take, but for the average listener things tend to get very repetitive. At least the producers put the master takes first on each CD (followed by the alternates), so if you want to hear only the prime cuts you don't have to keep skipping over tracks.
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great set, but not just Charlie Christian, September 27, 2002
This review is from: The Genius of the Electric Guitar (Deluxe Box Set) (Audio CD)
Before commenting on the music, I should note that the packaging is
different than most. The CDs are mounted on a piece of foam-sponge
material without sleeves. The arrangement does make it easy to get
to the CDs (often a hassle with elaborate box sets), but potential buyers
should know what they're going to get in terms of packaging. The CDs
appeared to be fine, and the arrrangement is convenient, but one has
to be careful not to scrape the CDs when putting those back in.
Also, those who aren't familiar with Charlie Christian's playing should
note that this music is primarily his work with the Benny Goodman
Sextet, and while his solos are superb, it is in the context of a band led
by someone else. So, most of the initial solos are by Goodman and
often next by Lionel Hampton, and with pianists like Fletcher Henderson
and Count Basie, there's also plenty of piano solos. Christian plays
plenty of guitar here, so there's plenty for the fan to enjoy, and the
sound is excellent considering the sources.
As a jazz set, the music swings, but with a lot of unison work that
has a noticable bop-like feel, and the playing is first rate, with the
sextet line-ups now legendary. Those who are expecting a pure guitar
set will be disappointed, but kick back and enjoy the music, and you'll
find that Christian sounded just great in in the company of such
musicians like Goodman and Basie. This won't be as guitar-oriented
a set like music by Django Rhinehart would be.
The rehearsal and outtakes are like those in many jazz sets, and I
question the value of aborted takes the only lasted a minute or so.
Those seem like mere padding. The long jam session tracks on CD4
are fun, though, and with musicians like this, of course the playing is
almost too good to be a jam.
A superb set, and worth it for any jazz fan. The price is pretty good for
a box set also. The booklet included has merely Ok details, but
lots of great photos.
On the whole, I recommend it, I found many of the tracks to be a
revelation, with few weak tracks (excepting the outtakes, etc).
However, do note that the box set celebrates Charlie Christian, but
in the context of a dynamic sextet and orchestra, and is not music
by a group led by him.
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The definitive collection of a jazz great, September 24, 2002
This review is from: The Genius of the Electric Guitar (Deluxe Box Set) (Audio CD)
Rising to fame as a soloist in Benny Goodman's band, guitarist Charlie Christian was one of jazz music's most prominent and influential champions of the electric guitar as a solo instrument. His rich, loud tones and amplified leads were new to the jazz vocabulary, and opened the way for every guitarist from Barney Kessel, Wes Montgomery and Charlie Hunter on down. Christian only basked in the limelight for a few years, though -- joining Goodman's band in 1938 after a few years in the Southwest jazz circuit, the guitarist was felled by tuberculosis, and died in March, 1942, less than a year after his final studio session dates. This 4-CD set tracks his entire career with Goodman, highlighting his revolutionary work in Goodman's various small combo sextets, septettes and trios. Christian's style of matching other soloists such as Goodman and Lionel Hampton note-for-note was nothing short of revolutionary: up until then, the guitar had been primarily a rhythm instrument, and though Eddie Lang had pioneered its use as a lead voice in jazz, it was Christian who brought the amplified guitar into play, finally introducing an six-string sound that could be hear at the volume level of the big bands. Included here are over two dozen tracks that have never been released in the US before, including Christian's last studio sessions in 1941. Listening to it all at once may be a bit much -- it's super-sweet music, but admittedly it's also a bit noodly and repetitive. But taken in small slices (like a chocolate mousse, or anything similarly rich), it's heavenly. Among the new tracks on here are several studio jam sessions that show both Goodman and Christian's free-swinging improv style... a jazz collector's dream!
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