StatsBorn: 19 July 1916 Died: 2 March 1942 Born and residing in:  United States Ethnicity: Black / African descent
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Charles Henry "Charlie" Christian (July 29, 1916 – March 2, 1942) was an American swing and jazz guitarist.
Christian was an important early performer on the electric guitar, and is cited as a key figure in the development of bebop and cool jazz. He gained national exposure as a member of the Benny Goodman Sextet and Orchestra from August 1939 to June 1941. His single-string technique combined with amplification helped bring the guitar out of the rhythm section and int
Charles Henry "Charlie" Christian (July 29, 1916 – March 2, 1942) was an American swing and jazz guitarist.
Christian was an important early performer on the electric guitar, and is cited as a key figure in the development of bebop and cool jazz. He gained national exposure as a member of the Benny Goodman Sextet and Orchestra from August 1939 to June 1941. His single-string technique combined with amplification helped bring the guitar out of the rhythm section and into the forefront as a solo instrument. John Hammond [1] and George T. Simon [2] called Christian the best improvisational talent of the swing era. In the liner notes to the 1972 Columbia album Solo Flight: The Genius of Charlie Christian, Gene Lees writes that "many critics and musicians consider that Christian was one of the founding fathers of bebop, or if not that, at least a precursor to it".[3]
Christian's influence reached beyond jazz and swing — in 1990 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Christian was raised in Oklahoma City and was one of many musicians who jammed along the city's "Deep Deuce" section on N.E. Second Street. In 2006 Oklahoma City renamed a street in its Bricktown entertainment district Charlie Christian Avenue.
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Frank added this to a list 12 months ago
 Origins of Guitar - The Original Masters (13 person items)"The most over shadowed man I think in modern day. You never really hear anyone crediting Charlie Chrisitan for his genius guitar playing, and one of those reasons would be the out of print of his recordings, and the sad fact that he died at the young age of 25.
This man is what started Jazz guitar. Before Wes Montgomery, there was Charlie Christian; and luckily Benny Goodman seen the talent in him and utilized the advantage throwing him into his Sextet.
Listening to his riffs, it's like a maze"
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