Rooster_Ties Posted May 14, 2011 Report Posted May 14, 2011 (edited) Just saw this thread on another board I'm on, and had to share... Thirty years ago, I was preparing materials for a Guitar Player magazine "special tribute" cover story on Charlie Christian. On a whim, I called a New York operator and asked for the "Benjamin Goodman" listings. No luck. "But," she said, "I have five listings for B. Goodman." I wrote all of them down. The second one to pick up the phone was THE Benny Goodman, who graciously agreed to speak with me about guitarist Charlie Christian. Asked what distinguished Charlie's playing, Mr. Goodman responded, "Well, he was unique! A brilliant musician. Inventive. Well, there’s nothing you could say about him more than that, you know. He was way ahead of his time, and a joy to listen to." He also recalled that Charlie was "retired and reserved and thin. . . . He enjoyed a good laugh. But by gosh, when he sat down and played the guitar, he was something!" My favorite part came when I asked Mr. Goodman if he shared the view that Christian was a bebop pioneer: "Well, that’s true, isn’t it? Yeah. But to me, he sounded quite different than that. He wasn’t as hectic as bebop, as far as I’m concerned. But I can see the influence that I can imagine that some people would say he had over bop. His inventions, his harmonic structure – quite miraculous. There was a phrase in – what was it? [sings several measures of Christian’s “Air Mail Special” solo.] Remember the release? Yeah. [sings some “Air Mail Special” riffs.] Those kinds of phrases – extraordinary!" I've got to say, hearing Benny Goodman sing Charlie Christian solos was one of the highpoints of my career as a music journalist! If you're interested in reading the whole interview, I've posted it here: http://jasobrecht.com/benny-goodman-interview-charlie-christian Edited May 14, 2011 by Rooster_Ties Quote
fasstrack Posted May 17, 2011 Report Posted May 17, 2011 (edited) Just saw this thread on another board I'm on, and had to share... Thirty years ago, I was preparing materials for a Guitar Player magazine "special tribute" cover story on Charlie Christian. On a whim, I called a New York operator and asked for the "Benjamin Goodman" listings. No luck. "But," she said, "I have five listings for B. Goodman." I wrote all of them down. The second one to pick up the phone was THE Benny Goodman, who graciously agreed to speak with me about guitarist Charlie Christian. Asked what distinguished Charlie's playing, Mr. Goodman responded, "Well, he was unique! A brilliant musician. Inventive. Well, theres nothing you could say about him more than that, you know. He was way ahead of his time, and a joy to listen to." He also recalled that Charlie was "retired and reserved and thin. . . . He enjoyed a good laugh. But by gosh, when he sat down and played the guitar, he was something!" My favorite part came when I asked Mr. Goodman if he shared the view that Christian was a bebop pioneer: "Well, thats true, isnt it? Yeah. But to me, he sounded quite different than that. He wasnt as hectic as bebop, as far as Im concerned. But I can see the influence that I can imagine that some people would say he had over bop. His inventions, his harmonic structure quite miraculous. There was a phrase in what was it? [sings several measures of Christians Air Mail Special solo.] Remember the release? Yeah. [sings some Air Mail Special riffs.] Those kinds of phrases extraordinary!" I've got to say, hearing Benny Goodman sing Charlie Christian solos was one of the highpoints of my career as a music journalist! If you're interested in reading the whole interview, I've posted it here: http://jasobrecht.com/benny-goodman-interview-charlie-christian Great! Thanks so much for this, both as a guitarist and a jazz musician. Christian got me out of my musical diapers at around age 17, when I first heard him. There was no turning back, and R&R would never again be taken seriously. I'm still working on what I got from Charlie Christian. Can you forward this to the guy? Or show me where you found it and I will. Edited May 17, 2011 by fasstrack Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted May 17, 2011 Author Report Posted May 17, 2011 Just saw this thread on another board I'm on, and had to share... Thirty years ago, I was preparing materials for a Guitar Player magazine "special tribute" cover story on Charlie Christian. On a whim, I called a New York operator and asked for the "Benjamin Goodman" listings. No luck. "But," she said, "I have five listings for B. Goodman." I wrote all of them down. The second one to pick up the phone was THE Benny Goodman, who graciously agreed to speak with me about guitarist Charlie Christian. Asked what distinguished Charlie's playing, Mr. Goodman responded, "Well, he was unique! A brilliant musician. Inventive. Well, there’s nothing you could say about him more than that, you know. He was way ahead of his time, and a joy to listen to." He also recalled that Charlie was "retired and reserved and thin. . . . He enjoyed a good laugh. But by gosh, when he sat down and played the guitar, he was something!" My favorite part came when I asked Mr. Goodman if he shared the view that Christian was a bebop pioneer: "Well, that’s true, isn’t it? Yeah. But to me, he sounded quite different than that. He wasn’t as hectic as bebop, as far as I’m concerned. But I can see the influence that I can imagine that some people would say he had over bop. His inventions, his harmonic structure – quite miraculous. There was a phrase in – what was it? [sings several measures of Christian’s “Air Mail Special” solo.] Remember the release? Yeah. [sings some “Air Mail Special” riffs.] Those kinds of phrases – extraordinary!" I've got to say, hearing Benny Goodman sing Charlie Christian solos was one of the highpoints of my career as a music journalist! If you're interested in reading the whole interview, I've posted it here: http://jasobrecht.com/benny-goodman-interview-charlie-christian Great! Thanks so much for this, both as a guitarist and a jazz musician. Christian got me out of my musical diapers at around age 17, when I first heard him. There was no turning back, and R&R would never again be taken seriously. I'm still working on what I got from Charlie Christian. Can you forward this to the guy? Or show me where you found it and I will. I'll be glad to direct him here, and you can find him at either of the links in my original post -- the first to the board he posted on, and the 2nd to the blog entry where the actual interview is found. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend seeing his full interview with Goodman - it's the link that you quoted that's in dark red text. Quote
fasstrack Posted May 17, 2011 Report Posted May 17, 2011 If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend seeing his full interview with Goodman - it's the link that you quoted that's in dark red text. That's what I was referring to, the full interview. Thanks, I read it. Quote
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