Charlie Christian

Charlie Christian (July 29, 1916 - March 2, 1942) was a famous jazz guitarist and is often considered the first electric guitar innovator.

Chistian was born in Dallas, Texas and was raised in Oklahoma. In the late 1930s he came to the attention of record producer John Hammond, who introduced him to Benny Goodman. Goodman hired Christian to play with the Goodman sextet starting in 1939. Goodman was initially reluctant to hire Christian, due in part to the novelty of the electric guitar, but was so impressed by Christian's playing he changed his mind.

Christian was influenced by early acoustic guitarists like jazzman Eddie Lang and bluesman Lonnie Johnson, who had introduced the guitar solo from what had been a rhythm instrument. Christian introduced the electric guitar solo, using an amplified guitar, which with its superior sustain and volume was almost like a different instrument.

Christian paved the way for the modern dominant guitar sound that was followed by other pioneers, including T-Bone Walker, B.B. King, all the way to Jimi Hendrix, all electric guitar players really.

For this reason Christian was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an "Early Contributor". The other dominant guitar player in the 1940s was Django Reinhardt, who played acoustic guitar before the war and only took up the electric guitar long after Christian's death.

Though known mainly for his influence on electric guitar, Christian was also an important player in the development of bebop, or "modern jazz", and his jam sessions at Minton's Playhouse in New York City were landmarks in the evolution of bop from the then-popular, radio-friendly, accessible swing music to the more intimate and experimental bebop.

This transition is readily apparent to even a casual observer in two sets of Christian recording with the sextet made on the same day. Christian and tbe rest of the sextet recorded "Blues in B" and "Waiting for Benny", which were basically bop jam sessions. The free flow of these sessions contrasts with the more formal swing music recorded after Goodman arrived.

Christian contracted tuberculosis and pneumonia and died at just 25 years old. He remains a highly respected early guitar player and modern jazz innovator.