SWING TO BOP (1941) by Charlie Christian

[conoclast2]

And not a bent note in sight! It's like he's getting all that music out of half-a-guitar!

[j6449663]

EEEEEEOOOOOWWWWW !!!

[johnartwork]

Charlie Christian was born to play the guitar....Enough said!

[neilraoufsw]

gogo charles!

godfather of electric guitar playing (not just jazz...).

[Modes9]

Guys like Gambale and Birelli play more intervals and arpeggios these days, but you have to take your hat off to Charlie for really improvising, playing creatively, and not just recycling a bunch of licks.

[bluezabec]

CONTINUALLY AMAZING TO LISTEN CHARLIE !!!

[jjjazzz1]

Continually amazing to see the younger generation guitarists "discovering" Charlie Christian still today even though he made those fantastic recorded solos about seventy years ago. In my opinion no guitarist has ever reached CC's level of genius and pure musical talent on guitar. He will never be matched.

[LanceHelmut]

this form of music is difficult to present without loosing the listeners interest...no such problem here.

[Django5198]

what scales?

[Bogart1899]

Bream's in my pantheon also

[Bogart1899]

Charlie's solo in Stompin' at the Savoy is also incredible, just as good as this one. You would be hard pressed to find 2 of the greatest guitar solos ever recorded come from the same guy. I bought 'Solo Flight' over 40 years ago and the solos are still as fresh now as they were then. You can listen to them over and over and always find something new. This guy has serious improvisational chops. He's still years ahead of most of today's guitarists.

[Bogart1899]

CC, Django, Breau and Stochelo are in my pantheon. This solo is probably the best I've heard

[Django5198]

Jimi Hendrix

Duane Allman

and Charlie Christian

3 guitar gods who changed music who were taken from us far too early

[000Z9A]

and to think that this is before hendrix's time...

really amazing..

[scassciatos]

grande charlie

[1crow]

I first heard this on a Smitthsonian compilation album I bought at age 15. Can't for the life of me remember why I would buy such an album since I was all about the Beatles and Stones and Ventures. Anyway, proceeded to listen to 'Swing to Bop' EVERY DAY for the next 4 years...

[jhb134]

@1crow - It's great, ain't it? Beatles, Stones, Ventures are interesting, when we're younger. Understanding C. Christian, Lester Young, Red Norvo, Roy Eldridge and others are the next step.

[wesm65]

Phenomonal - total classic! One of the greatest solos ever recorded!

[Rickswars]

The old stuff was the best genuine stuff,all true talent.

[brendananimation]

SAY WHAAAAAAAAAAT! daaaaaamn what the fuck has happened to music??? music is so dead now, can anyone do something like this anymore???

the more tools we have the less creative we get

[innicoco57]

@brendananimation wes montgomery...

[Gartonsleeds]

truly amazing - anybody else feel that Johnny Marr may have listened to this once or twice. There is a definite link to his smith's era playing.

[olystercrowley]

sounds a lot like Django

[SmelOdies]

@olystercrowley More melodic, IMV.

[AUSROTTENY2K]

0:59 love that part

[hummarstra]

Take out one note and the phrases wouldn't work. Amazing master of playing in and out of the chords.

[TomasMikaX]

Are they playing with metronome?

[lensellers]

Your posts are informative and interesting. Thanks to all of you for teaching me things I didn't know.

[sesshin]

Hearing Charlie play just hits me in the gut every time.

He was such a raw genius who died at such a young age. It's sad to think what he could have gone on to do. We have to cherish the few recordings we have of him.

[bolder2009]

That's where its at! Love it!

[callasexperience]

had A 1940 blond ES250 bought at Elderly instrument in the late 90's for 12000$, it was plummy sweet warm balanced, nice guitar

Serial number 9608

[snorky500]

Died at age 25. He reminds me of Hendrix, becasue he was so young with so many chops and did so much with the guitar.

[gabri3l367]

In questo video c'è la storia della chitarra jazz . Ascoltando attentamente ci si accorge quanto è ancora moderno oggi giorno. Viva Charlie Christian per sempre. Nelle frasi piccole ripetute spostando gli accenti è veramente unico.

[ausgang]

That's really swinging! I love the energy of his playing!

[rockingrobot]

awesome, I love this kind of jazz guitar sound and I've been trying to find a name of an artist to match it.

Charlie Christian. very cool.

[jbowden66]

b flat

[blubro]

whoa... that was so so good

[blubro]

ok... i've listened to it six times now and it just keeps getting better... my only complaint is it doesn't go on forever

[34bostonceltic]

the real shedder ^

[minutegongcoughs]

Just look at the year of this playing.

[n64wilbert]

HELL YES!!!

[motreby]

chack out the drummer how he is intercating to every move of Charlie...this way before drummers use the use open ride symbals....I listen to this may be twice a day...wow...

[kevinherbert]

@motreby : me too.....I've been listening to it for more than 2 years regularly.....& I hear new things all the time...

[BillyRosinet]

Great music never goes out of style!

[lepricon989]

The flow is unbelievable

[gruniongrady]

@callasexperience: anticipating a chord change; that's what I've been trying to get from this genius playing for so long. Thank you!

[gruniongrady]

The concept and playing on the bridge at 2:37+ is from someplace like heaven. Still astonishing, even nearly four decades after I first heard it.

[SedanChair]

2:00 !!

[SedanChair]

Man, his lines were so tasty all the time, it's like he came from another planet and we've been trying to catch up with him ever since

[fastborzoi]

have listened to this 100s of times on LP and thrilled to hear again here , even now all these decades later he's fresh and fabulous

(and the Kenny Clarke dropped beats... beyond )

[postatility]

One of the many great virtues of this clip is that it shows that,at their very best,all great forms of American music(jazz,blues,country,r&b,r­ock)come from the very same roots,and are really all one. I realize this is a simple truth,but it is still a very powerful one,and makes me grateful for having it all available!

[TheDarmardar]

outstanding. 

[ethan4sk8]

can anyone tell me what key this piece is in?

[wilsonmcphert]

@ethan4sk8

It's in Bbm. See the link under the video for the CC site which has the transcription for this and other CC solos.

[nymetsrock]

@wilsonmcphert it sounds like Bm

[Blackgeoff1]

@wilsonmcphert It sounds in Bm on my instrument. CC's Blues in B sounds B on my instrument and I don't have any tuning difficulties with anything else either).... I don't know how the transcriber tuned his instrument but I play flute, it's perfectly in tune with the piano, and there's no way I can play over this in Bbm.

Odd..

[stretch1973]

@ethan4sk8

it's in B. perhaps the recording was sped up due to the recording process, so maybe he played it in Bflat, but it sounds like B.

[dreamtimej]

This is the defining electric guitar album. There are not 2 ways about it! Anymore questions? All roads lead back to Charlie Christian. T-bone Walker was mates with Charlie and learned a great deal from him. Most early jazz guitarist define him as his sole inspriation. Think about Bill Haley, the father of rock and roll. His first band was a western SWING band. Check out his guitarist version of Caravan. It has Charlies tone and phrasing all over it. I could go on. You do the math.

[Margret2you]

Wow.... And to believe he did all this and became this famous and was only 25 when he died! It's insane! Truly phenomenal!

[CadillacL]

70yrs ago & STILL fresh today :)

[fmilktoast]

holy crap. genius!!!!!

[bud0070]

Lots of comments from people trying to show how clever they are and how much they know about jazz - for goodness sake, just listen to the music and wonder at his talent. No one else has come close to his style, and I hope this doesnt start another long discussion etc etc etc. Thanks for posting

[mrmrmanlyman]

@bud0070 Im so clever i think i have worked out that judging by the pictures of charlie, the guitar strap was not yet invented!

[DimebagsLeftToe]

@bud0070 little hypocritical here...

[twangbarfly]

@bud0070 What's that outburst supposed to mean? Everybody on here can just shut up - except for you of course ? :-)

Hate to tell you, but that's just your opinion, which is just as valid and just as worthless as everyone else's on here, including mine :-)

[TeamXTREMEPANTERA]

The grandfather of Rock and Roll... thanks broseph

[cosmo2631]

Very hip, sophisticated, swinging music.

[FreeGuitarLicks]

That was great.

[49kasey]

This man's licks are mad and precise! And nobody taught him to play like that.

[pickin6]

Chalie at his swingin' finest! His playing is an eternal inspiration!

[GhostofCliffGullett]

Bird copied his licks. That's the greatest tribute a musician can get.

[jayscott49]

love the space in his playing, and to think he's the first! feels more like something refined back to simplicity from 'shredding', but his experience of soloists was entirely horn and piano players outside of Django maybe? or did he influence Django? both? gotta look further into this...

[hubertrogers]

@jayscott49 — I don't know about their influence on each other, but the way I hear it Charlie Christian's sound is very similar to Django's, although Django played through more genres. Both extremely precise—every note counts and is integral to the melody. But Charlie's slower playing seems to me to be a little more coherent, perhaps simply because of the sheer manic speed that Django reaches.

[ManyGodz]

Another world-class guitar genius who died way too young.

[fastborzoi]

wow, and who was the DROPPED BEATS????

can't hear this enough

[hnksnw]

Charlie was just so unreal with his technique and playing!

[carlolaurenzi]

Fantastic player! A real pioneer!

[jamesb9119]

clarification... I've heard a recording of swing to bop that continues past 3:35, and on some recordings you can hear a trumpet come in for a solo during the fade out. Turns out that I have a album that strongly implies the trumpeter is Diz. Any takes? If it is him on trumpet, why do most other recordings cut it? If it's not, they're still really sick choruses...

[kristofor12345]

I love this guy's playing, but I kinda hate what the guitar did to Jazz.

[HiImJerry8]

@kristofor12345 why would you say that?

[renemill]

@kristofor12345 What d´you mean?...what did Christian,Benson,Pass,Byrd,Wes montgomery and so many others do wrong?...I would like you to give me an answer...

[kristofor12345]

@renemill I'm talking about modern jazz with electric instruments like Bass Guitars, Synths, and of course guitars. I always preferred the soulful style that's in kind of blue, and I do like some of Django's playing. But now we have boring guitar playing in people like Al Di Meola or John Scofield. So maybe not just the guitar but Electric instruments in general and uninspired rich white people ruined the sound of Jazz for me.

[5507156693]

@kristofor12345 Now that’s one dumb statement. Fine, everybody goes with their own tastes but to wipe out modern jazz is retarded. Don't want to go into the morbidly moronic rich-white-people-ruined-the-s­ound-of-jazz reference though I' m totally sick of the whole "political correctness" bullshit

[kristofor12345]

@5507156693 Yeah, pretty stupid when somebody has an opinion about music and supports it with further elaboration. I don't like the current jazz style, so I'm a retard, good to know I guess.

[5507156693]

@kristofor12345 Not liking current jazz because it's made by "rich white people" kind of justifies your self-assessment. I’m not gonna fight you back on that 

[kristofor12345]

@5507156693 That's not the reason that I don't like it, I don't like it because I don't see any sort of soul in it, and that's probably because the people who make it don't see any real hardship. The rich white people part is just a theory based on what I've seen and heard from those guys

[5507156693]

@kristofor12345 : Now that sounds reasonable and I have to agree & you. I think today most of the so called "popular" genres lack soul no matter what ethnicity is doing them

[kristofor12345]

@5507156693 Not just popular music (which I believe is now devoid of any real songwriting), but strictly speaking of Jazz, there's really no feeling in the new stuff that I can see. And it's not really the ethnicity that I was referring to, it's just the upper-middle class suburban people, and most of the musicians in that group are white.

[5507156693]

@kristofor12345 : Well, I see you still want to make it racial.

Tell me, did the born and lived in wealth non-white Miles Davis have soul?

Do the current "speakers- for- the-ghetto" non-white hip-hop millionaires have soul?

Do you think only starving musicians have soul?

(BTW, I heard a critic calling today’s jazz “intellectual”, lol; maybe that’s the problem?)

[kristofor12345]

@5507156693 I dunno, I'm trying not to make my opinion sound racial while still admitting that it is sort of, it's hard to explain. I understand that a skin color or ethnicity is not the reason for a personality (or anything really), but if I see a certain personality, like an annoying rich kid who tries to act like he lives in Compton, I (and plenty of other people) may call him "the whitest kid ever" regardless of his race. There, that's the extent of my racism, whether that helps I dunno.

[Odin029]

@kristofor12345 I didn't take the time to read every single post in this discussion, but I don't have to. I agree with what you've said. I don't think it's racial, its cultural. And its not just in jazz. I don't know what causes it, but there is something that caused Rock to lose its Roll, and for jazz to lose its soul, and for blues to lose some authenticity. There are some people who think that good guitar play is only about how many notes you can play a second.

[wilhoitsux]

those riffs at 2:37 ....

[MoreDiscoShow]

good , good video thank you a lot

[riskotibor80]

Even though the recording quality is bad, you can still hear how good his guitar tone was!

[mrcdutra]

Charlie Christian puts Wes Montgomery in the pocket.

[Hoopermazing]

@mrcdutra Comparing any other electric guitarist, even Wes, to Charlie Christian is like comparing a kid who gets an A in calculus to Sir Isaac Newton.

[monjoUtube]

I had quite forgotten the name Freddie Green, and would have been less likely to have guessed that they might ever have sharded a stage. Are you telling me there are duets? Nawh... I go to check Freddie Green on this thing...

[monjoUtube]

One wonders who the other guitar player in the photo might be?

[wilsonmcphert]

@monjoUtube That's Freddy Green, playing along with Lester Young and Count Basie amongst others.

[callasexperience]

HiImJerry8, Thanks I hope it helped you, 

[HiImJerry8]

did he play with a pick? or with his thumb? those two images at 1:13 and 1:16 really confuse me :S

[mjazzguitar]

He had such a great style.

[mjazzguitar]

Of course kids could figure this out and say he was way over rated.

[LoneWolfHowl1]

Is the any footage of Charlie Christian playing?

[wilsonmcphert]

@LoneWolfHowl1

Sadly no.

[LoneWolfHowl1]

Its like the Robert Johnson of jazz guitar playing

[knotinnswervice]

Wow. Charlie Christian was so advanced for his day. this my favorite track of his, the phrasing, the intensity, just a fantastic solo. Thank goodness someone had the recorder running!!!

[callasexperience]

the young man who recorded the tracks knew who the piano player was.. period

[callasexperience]

yep Cholocharlie is correct charlie Doesn't play scales, he just run changes shaping the inside or ouside of chords in geometric shapes linking them with little chromatic runs called passing notes ... Simple but Deadly. never heard anything like it since..

Also anticipating a chord change by a couple of beats creating a feeling of great drive like a plane diving, Charlie Parker used this Technic too.

[HiImJerry8]

@callasexperience wait, so he took notes from chords and linked them with other notes using chromaticism? what a tough technique!

[sexomandos]

por dios.... que guitarrista ... 

[LarryUreyVision]

Is it true that he was Jewish?

[GhostofCliffGullett]

I'm pretty sure Bird copied licks from CC.

[Biggus63]

What has always been most impressive to me on this track is his awesome flow of ideas. Except for the times when he takes a motif and works it over he's conceptually on the move the whole time. So, so ahead of his times.

[mendocinoplayboy]

The drummer is fucking crushing it, whoever he is..

[MJLatora]

@mendocinoplayboy

Kenny Clarke

[GhostofCliffGullett]

Isn't that Charlie Mingus on bass? And Max Roach on drums? That's what I heard, not that it matters b/c Christian takes it all over the place.

[BeatBay]

i hate it when they call only monk, bird and dizzy the fathers of bebop. charlie was a huge part of the develop of bebop too!

[cholocharile]

what scale does he use on this track?

[DCmey]

@cholocharile Charlie doesn't play scales, his solos are based more on arpeggios, and chromatic runs.

[Mythlcshadowz]

the guitar is so great it would be easy to ignore the amazing drummer and thelonius monk of course is always mind bending

[breaththeair]

zomg its tay zonday 

[cachristian123]

thats weird my name is charlie christian :^)

[guitarslim56]

@cachristian123 , You're weird.

[cholocharile]

1:38 Is that Gene Krupa?

[michaelbackhouse]

@cholocharile

That's Georgie Auld, tenor sax player with Benny Goodman's sextet, of which Charlie was also a member.

[jimraw1]

@cholocharile That's Dave Tough on drums

[DrunkenMantis]

That is NOT Kenny Kersey on Piano.. That is Thelonious Monk!

[wilsonmcphert]

@DrunkenMantis

There is some debate about this. Two of the foremost authorities on Charlie Christian, Leo Valdes and Garry Hansen both state that contrary to CD liner notes, it was Kersey not Monk who played on this track. In fact Hansen states that Monk played on none of the live Mintons recordings featuring Charlie. I've got an open mind on the matter and would love to hear of any unambiguous evidence on the issue.

[kmc56]

@wilsonmcphert You are correct. It is Kersey. None of the recordings feature Monk or Gillespie, unless you count the ones without Christian - "Stardust" and "Kerouac."

[00SoulPower]

According to Robin D.G. Kelley's biography on Monk, it was indeed Thelonious (uncredited) on the May 12th 1941 jam session at Minton's.

[TheFizz40]

I've been playing guitar for many, many years and I will never tire of his brilliance. Listen to his sound, tone, etc. And he was the first to do it!!

[LaPriest]

wow this is amazing

[GuitarTheoryInDepth]

Amazing stuff!!!!! What an innovator!!!!!!

[thefuturesouvenirs]

"wes" is the best, say no more

[charmister]

@thefuturesouvenirs. You really can't compare Wes and CC, they're both too talented... Wes' greatest influence was CC and Wes learned every solo of CC's.

[JPRBlues]

Man what an awesome player. great stuff..10/10...Peace...Jake

[pedalhogg]

I love Charlie's playing! The man was way ahead of his time I think!

[MegaYoshitsune]

Reminds me of Django

[DCmey]

@MegaYoshitsune Django did incorporate some arpeggios in solos but his style was more gypsy jazz.

[kennsmith]

One of my guitar heros. A legend..

[TheBrownTies]

i love this kind of jazz, oh man

[alecaleblues]

is missing the trumpet ,piano and second solo of Charlie , anyway good post and fuck mtv !!!

[ewe2oobes]

pure gold..such taste for melody and movement..rhythm and dynamics..glorious, bouncy and dashing

[JimmyDeLocke]

AMEN -- He should have lived longer.

Too bad Charlie and Django never got together.

[postatility]

The guitar equivalent to "Bird".One of the greatest soloists of any kind,ever!

[jamesb9119]

Anyone know what key this is in?

[wilsonmcphert]

@jamesb9119 It's in Bb. See 'Solo Flight' the CC website by Leo Valdes for a transcription of the track in tab under its alternative name of 'Topsy'. The link is contained in my comments immediately below the video clip.

[DCmey]

@wilsonmcphert One thing to keep in mind with the transcriptions on Valdes's site, the notes are 100% accurate but I only agree with about 94% of his fingering positions. His interpretation is based playing with 2 fingers which I have not heard anywhere else, also in he has a lot of what is called false fingerings which I haven't seen much of in other transcriptions of Charlie's solos. I do appreciate the work that it took to do and him making it available on his site though.

[abelmwagha]

Ingenious... I understand the reason Wes was inspired by Charlie Christian. It flows in Charlie's blood... he should have lived longer... very sad !

[Zombiewulf1]

Amen...Spirits continue to walk among us

[mallee17]

Inspirational !

[MattyMyhem]

sweet.

[inthecresents]

timeless.

[ginosupernova]

Music would never be the same...

[tenorbanjo4]

Everyone who plays an electric guitar must be thankful to Charlie Christian.

[Hoopermazing]

Herb Ellis entitled an album to that effect, i.e. "Thank You, Charlie Christian."

[kevinherbert]

and anyone who ever sang...

[pencert]

@tenorbanjo4 and everyone who plays saxophone should be just a little pissed.

[kniphofiarufa]

a true legend...

[kevinherbert]

If I'm feeling a bit down....I listen to this, and hey presto......I'm cured

[callasexperience]

when you think he is simply boppin some down home blues licks...amazing