Charlie Christian is one of the three seminal jazz
guitarists, the other two being Django Reinhardt and Les
Paul.
The recordings by C.C. mainly include his works with
the Benny Goodman Orchestra. To our ears today these
works may sound dated, but they represent very fine
swing material from the golden age of jazz.
Charlie Christian was on the cutting edge of be-bop as
evidenced by the recordings of his jam sessions at
Minton's in Harlem along with Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonius Monk. This contrasts with his works with
Goodman.
Of course this CD features C.C. for solos along with the
rest of the orchestra. Perhaps it could have been better
if he were taking longer extended solos.
His technique and style reflect a true genius at work
and as a guitarist in the jazz genre, C.C. was defining
a new standard of guitar playing for his day and age.
The next breed of jazz guitarists continued where he
left off due to a premature death.
As a starting point in jazz guitar, this CD is a must
for anyone interested in the roots of jazz guitar.
Robert G. Denman
