American jazz guitarist and pioneer of the amplified electric guitar as a solo jazz instrument; key recordings 1939–1941; member of Benny Goodman's groups; died 1942.

Born July 29, 1916 in Bonham, Texas. Rose to prominence in the late 1930s with Benny Goodman. Pioneered single-line, amplified guitar solos that influenced later jazz and bebop players. Important recordings were made between 1939 and 1941. Died March 2, 1942 (age 26); cause of death reported as tuberculosis.

Reviews emphasize Charlie Christian as a pioneering electric-guitar soloist who helped open new jazz frontiers. His key recordings date from 1939–1941 with Benny Goodman. "Seven Come Eleven" is singled out as exemplary. Christian died young in 1942, cutting short a transformative career.

For:jazz fans, guitarists, music students and historians

 

Charlie Christian appeared with an electric guitar, a synthesis of technological progress, and some original insights, and his example was so convincing that a few years later almost all guitarists adopted a similar instrument and began to closely follow the moves of the Afro-American prodigy originally from Texas.

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