Charlie Christian是第一个在演出中使用电吉他和放大器的人,那是在30年代末,他刚刚从一个钢琴手转向到吉他乐器。他的那把Gibson ES-150上的单线圈拾音器后来被命名为&Charlie Christian拾音器&。这种技术上的革命给了后来的吉他音乐以强大的生命力。Christian的演奏有着萨克斯手般的流畅和自信,他也是第一个在吉他上铸造出Bee-Bop乐句的爵士音乐家。 1919年生于美国德州,而在俄克拉荷马市长大的Charlie Christian,从12岁时开始学习吉他。俄克拉荷马市也是许多著名乐手的出身地,如Lester Young及日后的“菜鸟”Charlie Parker等;其中Lester Young的流畅的演奏风格,便对于Charlie Christian独奏技巧有着相当的影响。 Charlie Christian在15岁时,便随他哥哥的乐团开始了演出的生涯;而自1937年他开始使用ES-150电吉他以来,他的独奏技巧也很快地使他小有名气。1939年时,John Hammond这位曾发掘Bob Dylan、Bruce Springsteen的著名星探与制作人,在听过Charlie Christian的演奏后大为激赏,并将他引介给当时最著名的乐队指挥Benny Goodman。在John Hammond的要求下,Benny Goodman不太情愿地让这个年轻的黑人与他的乐团合奏,并且挑了一首他认为Charlie Christian无法演奏好的曲子Rose Room企图刁难他。没想到Christian的表现却极为惊人,以他的吉他带领整个乐团,足足演奏了四十五分钟!可想而知Charlie Christian当场便获得录用,加入了Benny Goodman的乐团,成为第一位重要的爵士吉他手。 Charlie Christian不仅是第一位使用电吉他的著名吉他手,也是第一位拥有能在不同把位上流畅地即兴演奏的能力,足以和当时担任主奏的萨克斯风或小号相抗衡的乐手,他也因此被视为日后崛起的咆勃(Bebop)爵士乐的先驱之一。然而他却无法目睹他与其它乐手所带来的这场转变。他于1942年因肺结核而去世,年仅26岁。 爵士电吉他演奏家charlie christian一开始并不被人认为是jazz-blues音乐家,(尽管christian用他的空心电吉他录过很多不错的作品)。因为当时人们并不认可电吉他,也没有想象到电吉他对后来流行音乐起到的重要作用。但这些并没有影响他成为一个有影响力的jumpblues吉他演奏家。另一位叫T- blone walker的,他也是jumpblues的代表,也同时是西海岸blues的代表。他从jazz中吸取了大量的元素用于他的的单弦独奏。同时与 christian和一些其他的爵士音乐家在一起合作,他也被公认为jazz-blues艺术家。但他的音乐始终扎根在blues的土壤里。
by Scott Yanow
It can be said without exaggeration that virtually every jazz guitarist that emerged during 1940-65 sounded like a relative of Charlie Christian. The first important electric guitarist, Christian played his instrument with the fluidity, confidence, and swing of a saxophonist. Although technically a swing stylist, his musical vocabulary was studied and emulated by the bop players, and when one listens to players ranging from Tiny Grimes, Barney Kessel, and Herb Ellis, to Wes Montgomery and George Benson, the dominant influence of Christian is obvious.
Charlie Christians time in the spotlight was terribly brief. He played piano locally in Oklahoma, and began to utilize an amplified guitar in 1937, after becoming a student of Eddie Durham, a jazz guitarist who invented the amplified guitar. John Hammond, the masterful talent scout and producer, heard about Christian (possibly from Mary Lou Williams), was impressed by what he saw, and arranged for the guitarist to travel to Los Angeles in August 1939 and try out with Benny Goodman. Although the clarinetist was initially put off by Christians primitive wardrobe, as soon as they started jamming on Rose Room, Christians talents were obvious. For the next two years, he would be well-featured with Benny Goodmans Sextet; there were two solos (including the showcase Solo Flight) with the full orchestra; and the guitarist had the opportunity to jam at Mintons Playhouse with such up-and-coming players as Thelonious Monk, Kenny Clarke, and Dizzy Gillespie. All of the guitarists recordings (including guest spots and radio broadcasts) are currently available on CD. Tragically, he contracted tuberculosis in 1941, and died at the age of 25 on March 2, 1942. It would be 25 years before jazz guitarists finally moved beyond Charlie Christian.