Charlie+Christian

As you research your selected guitarist, you will need to note some specific information from his or her life and career. Include the following in your final writing: Details for your written assignment: ,
 * =Introduction-Biography=
 * Discography
 * Edmond Hall: Celestial Express, Blue Note, 1941.
 * Charlie Christian, Vox, 1947.
 * Solo Flight: The Genius of Charlie Christian, Columbia, 1972.
 * The Harlem Jazz Scene, 1941, Evidence, 1993.
 * Lester Young and Charlie Christian: 1939-1940, Jazz Archives
 * Legacy
 * Conclusion

Written Information : As you enter information, the area will expand. Make sure to check the required details of the assignment. Charlie Christian was a solo jazz artist born on July 19th 1916 in Dallas, Texas. He was the inventor of the electric guitar and wrote many songs that were viewed as harmonic and melodic. Most of his work was done with Benny Goodman and was released in the mid 1900’s. He released many albums and worked a lot with Benny Goodman during his career. Charlie was a very influential artist and his music still inspires many jazz musicians today.

Charlie lived in a home in Dallas, Texas as a young boy but moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma later in life. He had two brothers, Clarence and Edward, and a father who played guitar although he was blind. He was very involved in Jazz from a very young age. Charlie took four years of wide-ranging musical training in high school. At one point in his life Charlie even attempted to try to make his own guitars until he got his own. As an early adult he even figured out a guitar could be amplified and ended up making the first electrically amplified guitar, the Gibson ES-150.

In his life Charlie Christian released 5 albums, or compilations, because they involved other artists in them. There were three artists who majorly influenced him and they were Benny Goodman, Miles Davis, and of course, John Coltrane. Two albums Charlie released in his life were “The Harlem Jazz Scene” in 1941 and “Charlie Christian” in 1947. The types of music that influenced Charlie were Jazz and Blues, but mainly Jazz influenced him.

Charlie has influenced any guitarist that plays the electric guitar essentially. Without Charlie there would be no rock besides smooth because of his invention of the electric guitar. The amplifier (or amp, as we call it today) was also very important because it affects how the guitars of today are made and sound. His legacy has left so much for the jazz guitarists of today to match up to his musical genius. He has changed so much in the way guitars are used and played nowadays.

After everything that he’s done Charlie Christian was overall one of the most influential guitarists of all time. Without him there would be no electric guitar, and the invention of the rock genre may never have started. Jazz artists would have nobody to look back on when they want an inspiration for their music, and the amp that makes music better heard today would have never existed. Charlie Christian was on this world for a reason, and that reason is blatant to see, to make the guitar universe a more technologically advanced place.

Sources : Include the source information for all of the articles or web sites that were used to complete your project. Source information is found at the end of each article in iCONN.They should also be listed in alphabetical order by the first word of the source citation. //sample:// "Carol Kaye." //Contemporary Musicians//. Vol. 22. Detroit: Gale, 1998. //Gale Biography In Context//. Web. 8 Jan. 2012. "Selected Websites on Carol Kaye's Life and Works." //Gale Biography in Context//. Detroit: Gale, 2008. //Gale Biography In Context//. Web. 8 Jan. 2012.

Your Source List:

"Charlie Christian." //Contemporary Musicians//. Vol. 11. Detroit: Gale, 1994. //Gale Biography In Context//. Web. 22 May 2012.

"Charles Christian." //Merriam Webster's Biographical Dictionary//. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 1995. //Gale Biography In Context//. Web. 22 May 2012.

"The roots of rock; Jazz CDs." //The Economist// [US] 30 Nov. 2002. //Gale Biography In Context//. Web. 24 May 2012

Workman, Josh. "How to play like ... Charlie Christian." //Guitar Player// Oct. 2005: 116. //Gale Biography In Context//. Web. 24 May 2012.

"The roots of rock; Jazz CDs." //The Economist// [US] 30 Nov. 2002. //Gale Biography In Context//. Web. 29 May 2012.

"Charlie Christian." //Contemporary Musicians//. Vol. 11. Detroit: Gale, 1994. //Gale Biography In Context//. Web. 29 May 2012.

Guitarist Research Notes Table
|| Your Findings cells will expand as you enter your findings || Coltrane. || What do you like about his/her style? || EST is a swedish band that plays jazz music today. i have not heard any of their music so i cannot judge their style. They have an album called "A Strange Place for Snow which came out in 2005 ||
 * **Information Feature **
 * The guitar style I am researching is: || Jazz/Electric ||
 * The artist I am researching is: || Charlie Christian ||
 * This guitarist lived from || July 29th,1916-March 2nd,1942 ||
 * Describe the guitar style you are researching. || It was the first electric guitar, and looked like somewhat of a violin on the outside. ||
 * What kind of musical training did the guitarist have? || Four years of extensive musical classes in high school and even attempted to make his own guiars at that time. ||
 * What types of music influenced this artist? || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Very involved in jazz from a young age ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Name some musicians who influenced the guitarist you are researching. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Some musicians who influeced charlie christian are Benny Goodman, Miles Davis, and John
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Has this guitarist played more than one style? If so, what other styles? || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Jazz & Blues ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What type of guitar does this musician play? || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Gibson ES-150 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What are some interesting facts about your guitarist’s childhood? || * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lived in Dallas, Texas but then moved to Oklahoma City 1921
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">His father was blind but played guitar
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Had two brothers, Clarence and Edward ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What did this guitarist do before he became famous? || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Pioneered in use of electrically amplified guitar ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">List two interesting facts about the guitarist’s life. || * everywhere he went his guitar playing was viewed as interesting and exciting to other people
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">List two albums or songs your artist released, the dates they were released and why they are important. || * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Edmond Hall: Celestial Express, Blue Note, 1941.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Charlie Christian, Vox, 1947.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Solo Flight: The Genius of Charlie Christian, Columbia, 1972.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Harlem Jazz Scene, 1941, Evidence, 1993.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lester Young and Charlie Christian: 1939-1940, Jazz Archives ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Who is playing this style of music today?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Who is playing this style of music today?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What legacy has this guitarist left to the world of music? || Charlie Christian has given the gift of the electric guitar and the amp to the world of music ||