Customer Reviews

Selected Broadcasts & Jam Sessions

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

 

 

Look, Charlie Christian needs no endorsement from me. A few particulars: Benny Goodman was an indifferent soloist but a fine assembler of talent. On these sides he stays out of the way and doesn't mess things up. Christian on the first set of sides is accompanied by Lionel Hampton, who almost matches him-- almost. (Listen to "Stardust," with Christian's quote from "Pretty Baby" before Charlie starts exploring VERY strange chords.) The sides with Basie are incomparable, and when Basie's small group sits in --Lester Young, Jo Jones included-- with Goodman, Christian, and Cootie Williams, a jazz fan can only dream of what could happened if these stars regularly recorded together. Christian is the focus, and it really is extraordinary to hear his rhythmic ideas, undoubtedly predecssors to be-bop, his flirtations with odd chords, yet deeply, deeply ensconced in the southwestern blues tradition. Minor grouchy notes: The all-star sides I could do without, as well as some of the alternate takes. But, come on, these are tiny when compared with the underlying simplicity of this great music. Listen to the sextet sides with Hampton, and the Basie sides, on the way to work. You'll have a spring in your step all day.

The Charlie Parker and Coleman Hawkins JSP boxed sets are so good I figured this a no-brainer purchase. Well, I became wary when I opened the box and there was no credit listed for the remastering. Ted Kendall, who worked on the aforementioned Parker & Hawkins sets, seems to have gone on to better things at Mosaic Records. When I put the first CD on, I had to dust off my listening skills from the bad old days when you had to hear through the noise and distortion and try to reconstruct the actual sound of the music with your brain. Charlie Christian's electric guitar, a distinctly midrange instrument, comes through pretty well. But the bands sound pretty awful. Maybe the source recordings were beyond salvation, but it just doesn't seem like JSP really tried.

All that said, the material on here is marvelous. While the many Columbia (Sony) releases I've sampled run from good to excellent in sound quality, they come from recording sessions where Benny Goodman is the headliner and Charlie gets very little solo time. The jams here, particularly on the longer tracks, give the guitarist a chance to lay out and develop a solo more fully. It all swings a bit harder and looser than the commercial sides; Benny & Cootie Williams in particular seem highly enthused.

So 5+ star material plus 2+ star (re?)mastering gives me my 4 star rating. Yeah, knowing what I know now, I would still buy this boxed set. But what might have been! I'm glad for my Mosaic Young/Basie set that features Charlie on 6 tracks with the small group in a spirited frame of mind with state-of-the-art remastering.

This is a must for Charlie Christian lovers. Personally, I am a guitarist who learned a lot from Christian, therefore I always interested to hear him doing something new, as well as something I already heard him playing before.
In this box set, you will get both.

Sound quality is uneven...so what?
Start with Disc 1 Track 4..."I Got Rhythm". There, you just got a quick look into Jazz Heaven. Charles Christian...there is no substitute.