Charlie Christian Guitar Tab Books, Instruction DVDs, Solos, Arrangements, Video Lessons

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Charlie Christian - The Jazz Guitarist Who Started It All!
Compiled & Edited By Steven Herron

    Charlie Christian was born on July 29, 1916 in Bonham, Texas but grew up in Oklahoma City. His dad was a singer/guitarist, his mother a pianist, and they played in a Dallas movie theater when he was a kid. His two bothers were also musicians. Christian began his musical career on the trumpet but due to a severe chest condition changed to the guitar at the age of 12. He likewise had some understanding of the bass and the piano. Following the family's relocation to Oklahoma City in 1921 Christian senior lost his sight. To earn a living he ultimately ended up being a street musician accompanied by his three boys, Clarence on violin and mandolin, Edward on string bass, and Charlie on guitar.

    Throughout the early 1930s, Charlie Christian played guitar in his brother Edward's band "The Jolly Jugglers". He initially got wider recognition for his very evident skills in 1937 when he signed up with The Anna Mae Winburn Orchestra. He then played in 1938 with The Alphonso Trent Sextet. Christian ended up becoming interested in the electric guitar when he heard Eddie Durham, who played an early version of the amplified instrument. Christian chose to experiment around with the electric amplified guitar. He quickly mastered exactly what was then a brand-new instrument.

    His status on the electric guitar grew very rapidly and jazz lovers traveled from far and wide to hear his new and original guitar sound. His electric amplified single note lines sounded sometimes like a tenor saxophone. Christian began to add numerous original ideas into his jazz improvisations. He used augmented and diminished chords in a manner which in the not too distant future would change the world of jazz. His concepts were very individualistic and he was a terrific fan of Django Reinhardt's guitar style. He took pleasure in playing Reinhardt's improvised choruses, note-for-note, on numbers like "The St. Louis Blues" and then including some of his own improvised choruses.

    In 1939 while having fun performing with The Leslie Sheffield Band he was heard by the prominent jazz promoter John Hammond. He had actually been persuaded by pianist May Lou Williams to take a trip to Oklahoma City to hear Charlie Christian. Hammond was so impressed that he persuaded his brother-in-law, band leader Benny Goodman, to hear Christian. Goodman was originally reluctant to listen to the young guitar player but he eventually agreed to provide him with an audition on August 16, 1939 in Los Angeles. It just took a few bars of Charlie Christian soloing on "Rose Room" for the excellent clarinetist to recognize the young guitarist's genius. Christian was signed up on the spot!

    In the 2 years that followed Charlie Christian became a significant influence, not only in The Benny Goodman Big Band and Sextet, but also on the history of jazz! After playing at night with the Goodman band, Christian would go on to play into the early hours of the morning at Minton's Jazz Club in Harlem. There he performed for hours on end, his amazing improvisations directly affecting other jazz musicians who came to the club consisting of Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Kenny Clarke, Joe Guy, and others. Some of these historical jam sessions luckily were recorded for posterity by Jerry Newman.

    Tragically, the late nights and Christian's love of the New York night life did not help his health. He had actually dealt with poor health for most of his life. In the spring of 1940 he was checked into a hospital where the medical diagnosis revealed that he had tuberculosis. Regardless of the physicians warnings, he failed to take correct care of his health. In July 1941 he suffered a serious relapse and went into The Seaview Sanitarium on Staten Island. He passed away there in March of 1942.