2
t4
6
9
10
t2
I4
18
t9122
24
27
28
32
THE ARTOf the IALIGUIAI
Edited by DAN FOX
CONTENTS
CHARLIE CHRISTIAN BIOGRAPHY
A S-M-O.O-T-H ONE
WHOLLY CATS
SIX APPEAL
SEVEN COME ELEVEN
GONE WITH "WHAT'' WINDAIR MAIL SPECIAL
BENNY'S BUGLE
BREAKEAST FEUD
SHIVERS
TILL TOM SPECIAL
GRAND SLAM
SOLO FLIGHT
NOTATION AND HARMONIC ANALYSIS
:sTHE GOODilAN GROUP
Music PublishersNew York, Nsw York
lErn*ii*i*ctrwronf 7 f 7 W6t ElrenMnd noad P.0. BN I 38 I I tlitvau*cc, Wt SJ2 I 3
@ copyright 1964, 1988 REGENT MUSIC CORPORATION
unaurhorized copying, arranging, ".""il::l*?fiiJxxtilriii"tffi;;ance is an infringement of copyright.Infringers are liable under the law.
CHARLIE CHRISTIAN
Charlie Christian's influence on the developmentof jazzis indisputable,
and in its own way, incomparable. In a brief span of approximately three years
on the New York r.eoi, he revolutionized the concept of jazzguitar playing.
Charlie brought the instrument out of its traditionally accepted place in the
rhythm section into its present role as an exciting solo voice. His guitar style
was able to hold its own playing with and against trumpets, trombones, clari-
nets and saxophones.
Although Eddie Lang had developed a solo guitar technique in the early
30's, his single string lines were really more of an adjunct to his chords than an
independent melody line. Furthennore, in the big swing band era, the subdued
tones of the guitar were ineffectual except for rhythm playing. The problem
was inaudibility. At first a tin resonator was tried, and in 1937 electric amplifi-
cation became practical for the Spanish guitar.
charlie was born in Dallas in 1919, raised in oklahoma, and by 1934 was
playing the bass with Alphonso Trent. Eddie Durham, a trombonist in Jimmie
Lunceford's band who doubled on the guitar, and "Jim Daddy" walker are
credited with interesting Charlie in the guitar.
Eddie reports, "It was late in 1937, and I'll never forget the beat-up five
dollar guitar he (Charlie) had. I never in my life heard a guy learn the guitar
faster than he did."
By 1939 Charlie was the talk of the midwest. Back with Al Trent's band,
he toured throughout the south and middle west. With Al's sextet he blended
his single string guitar with the trumpet and tenor sax for the three part har-
monic effects that were completely new in jazz.
In was around this time that Mary Osborne entered a club in Bismark,
North Dakota. She related that at first she thought she was hearing a tenor sax
distorted by the amplifying system. Looking around she realized that the
sound was produced by Charlie playing single line solos on his electric guitar,
and voicing them like a horn. Truly, this was an innovation in jazz.
Charlie stayed with Trent for about two more years playing his solos with
an utterly relaxed even beat mainly in 8th notes. Harmonically he was able to
experiment with the more advanced harmonies and create his own improvisa-
tions around some of the better standard tunes. Rhythmically, and harmoni-
cally, his ideas were suggestive of what later became known as be-bop.
John Hammond heard charlie, and eventually persuaded Benny Good-
man to give him a try. It is reported that Charlie arrived for the meeting wear-
ing "a ten gallon hat, pointed yellow shoes, a bright green suit with a purple
shirt, and a string bowtie". The sight was too much for Benny who immediate-
ly lost interest.
However, at a performance that night while Benny was offstage, friends
moved Charlie's amplifier onto the stand. When he came back, there was
charlie, and one performer reports that they played "Rose Room", and played
it for 48 minutes. Charlie gave an inspired performance. Indeed, while he was
with the band, he seemed to bring out a new excitement in Benny,s playing.
charlie came to New York with the Goodman band in sept. '39. The next
month, Benny played his second Carnegie Hall concert. He introduced Charlie
on the sextet number, "Flying Home" saying, ". . . with Charlie christian on
the electric guitar. I really think he is one of the most terrific musicians that has
been produced in years".
For the next two years charlie played dance dates and theatre engage-
ments with Goodman's band. It was during this time that the recordings tran-
scribed in this folio were made. All were recorded with Benny Goodman's
small groups except for "solo Flight" which was done with the big band.
After hours Charlie played at jam sessions in small Harlem clubs. There
his ideas helped the evolution of a new jazz style which came to be known as
be-bop and later "modern j azz".Thiswas the collective creation of such other
participating musicians as Kenny Clarke, Charlie parker, Thelonius Monk
and,Dizzy Gillespie.
During most of his life, Charlie suffered from tuberculosis. In the sum-
mer of 1941 he suffered a relapse and was taken to Bellevue Hospital. onMarch 2,1942,he died in a Staten Island sanitarium at the age oftwenty-four.
A SMO_O-O_TH ONE
Notice the prominence of the flatted 9th, lst bar, and. the added 6th E 3. Both of these added chord tones
later became characteristic interval, o..d i" -o.i.- ia"r. arring.-ti-n]cttarlie's solo (bar @ 17 to B 24)
ir noi ioo interesting here and seems almost like a written part.
Gb
ByBENNY GOOD
abt AbmT(J=t20) Ab7 AbmT
tbt Abm?
Ab7 obt Ab7 Abm?
tbz Abm?
Gbcbo Ab7 Dbe
Ab7 Abm? Gb
3
Abm? cbocbe
cbo
tbt AbmT Gb Ab7
G7 cbr cbo
.abt
Ab7 Abm?
nbg cbo
Gb cutco7
Gb Go7 Gb
Gb obgcbe
32bar chorus sax andas letter E.
clarinet solo has been omitted here. Guitar may play the same chords
Copyright @ 1941 by REGENT MUSIC CORPORATIONCopyrtdnt henewed by iEWEL MUSIc PUBLISHING co.' lNc.'
lnt6rnational Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved
6
Bright 4
@iano intro.)
BboT
Cm
G cfio? Amz
WHOLLY CATS
Eb7
gboz Am7
BENIVY
Cm G
G cfio? Amz
C
Notice the frgure charlie uses at bg F 6 . It later becam_e a cliche in the be-bop eta.Dizzy Gillespie even
wrote a tune uaseo J"lii.ly ;;ihi ftu".. - but about five years after charlie played it.
G7G
Am7
G?GcG7GB
G
a-Dffi C'6
G6 G7G
(chords behind sax solo)
CmGG6
Eb7
Bbo? AmT
cG7
C'6Eb7G7G6at
(chords behind Piano solo)
Copyright @ 1941 by REGENT yqs-lO-CO-RPORATIONcoovriirnt henewed by JEWEL MUSIo PUBLISHING co.' lNc'
' int6rnational Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved
Am7 G
SIX APPEAL
ftutie in a minor _key fol a change. His conception of minor key is ong of his most original facets" Noticgfm_exarnple, that wlen pbyrng against hgvl cho-rd (Bar E z ind E g) the notes hqit"vr i*pii tn" rcrydF major, not F minor. Thus, when the "normal" F minor notes come back in Bar [B] q, thev
-come bacl
rirh an added freshness. Along wi4 this conceptio_n, notice the repeated use of Dl (insteiO of ihe expectedD) in zuch places as Bar E l+, Bar @ 15, and Bar @ 16.
BENNY C'OODMAITI
plary. Solo)
Fm Bbm
the record consisting of solos by vibes, clarinet and bass plus a riffhas been omitted.
FIncrt
gr
_ Copyright @ 1964 by REGENT MUSTC CORPORATTONCopy.right Renewed by JEWEL MUSTC pUBLtSHtNG CO., tNC.
lnternational Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved
tu
t0SEVEI{ COI\4E E.LEVE,N
Charlie's solo is full of modern devices here. Note especially:
1. the long held neighbor note (Db) in Bar @ 5, which finally resolves to the Ch in the next bar;
2. Barp 1. Here Charlie is thinking of G7 as a chord in C,major, even though the traditional methodwould be C minor as being more closely related to Ab major (the key of the piece)
3. Bar D +. Notice the dissonant passing tone (Bh) on the strong beat of the bar.
4. Bar D s. Same ur #g. This time Eh.
5. Bar D O. Added l3th to an F7 (Dl)
6. Bar D z. Added 9th to Bb7 (Ch)7. Bar IDI Z. Anticipated chord tone (Eb)
8. Bar D f O. - D f 1. Extended passage using blue notes
9. Bar D f O. Ending solo on unresolved 7thBy
BENI\ry GOODMANCHARLIE CHRISTIAN
Intro @ass SoIo)
(Melody) E
Copyright O 1940 by REGENT MUSIC CORPORATIONCopyright Renewed by JEWEL MUSIC PUBLISHING CO., lNC.
lnternational Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved
F7 r,bzC7 nbz
L2 GONE WITH "WIIAT'' WIND
Two frne swinging choruses by charlie on this blues. Besides the wonderful swinging feel of these choruses'
note rhe two beat ;iifi*;i t";;;fg;;;r th. bt *n i" nur @ e. rhe c# iJttre lower neighbor to the
ninth (A).
ByCOUNT BASIE
BENI{Y
) (Piano Solo
t2
(Clarinet Solo
Ec
c7
cG7
cF7
C
11mt2mt2m
G7
t2
Copyright @ 1941 REGENT MUSIC CORPORATION
Copyr-ig-iiREneweO by JEWEL MUSIC PUBLISHING CO" INC'---intErnational Copjright Secured All Rights Reserved
G
(Vibe Solo)
Riff
L4
AIR MAIL SPECIAL
Besides Charlie's usual brilliant flow of melodic ideas - in this case against an extremely limited harmonicbackground - especially notable is the rhythmic device he uses in Bars lH 9 through | 4 1 2 where the normaltwo bar pattern of 4 + 4 is changed to 3 + 5 (marked with brackets in solo). Similarily at the beginning ofthe bridge (the double bar after lH ) Charlie superimposes a 4 x 3 beat pattern (marked with brackets)against the normal 3 x 4 Pattern.
ByBENIVY GOODMAN.JIMMY MUNDY and
CHARLIE CH
Cdim
Cdim Bdim gboim ebgb G9
Copyright O 1941 by REGENT MUSIC CORPORATIONCopyright Renewed by REGENT MUSIC CORP. & JEWEL MUSIC PUBLISHING CO., lNC.
lnternational Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved
t8BE,NNY'S BUCLE
Although the riffhere is a little trite, Charlie's solo more than makes up for it. Notice his characteristic use
of the doubte neighbor note (marked with brackets throughout). Although it is used six times on the samenotes in the space of 24 bars, Charlie varies the figure in so many rhythmic ways that it never becomesboring.
MeIody
E"j
BENI{Yand COUNT
(ad lib. trpt. intro.)Bb7 Eb7
The rest of the record consisting of a piano solo, riII, sax solo and closing riff has been omitted.
Copyright O 1941 by REGENT MUSIC CORPORATIONCopyright Renewed by JEWEL MUSIC PUBLISHING CO., lNC.
lnternational Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved
BREAKFAST FEUD
'lfummany interest^in_g asp€cts of Charlie's solo on this blues. His use of the delayed passing tone be-rm I rtracteristic of charlie Parker's style - among others.km 6 Here the entire Bb chord in the following bar is anticipated - see also Bar [ 19hm 1. Note the use of the blues scale herendMg- Note the use ofdelayed passing tones. (Their resolutions are marked with arrows below)hm 16. Note the prominence of the 9th and 13th herekm 9 and Kf O. More delayed passing toneslrm l-|Srre del-agf passing tones. (There are many more examples in this solo, see especially Bar
Itv!2andMl)
WMBy
BENNY GOODMAN
lr. I12.
r,bz Ebm Bb
may be used for all thtnbo F? Bb Go Cm7
EbF7
Eb7
ffhe above choruse's)Eo F7
Bb
(Riff)
Solovbz
?^^
Copyright @ 194't by REGENT MUSTC CORPORATTONCopyright Renewed by JEWEL MUSIC pUBL|SHtNG CO., tNC.
lnternational Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved
L,2,3,4,5.6
Bb
:----v
Solo Eb
following choruses consisting of a sax solo and a repetition of the melody have been omittert-
22SHIVE,RS
A nice example of long lines of eighth notes. It is interesting to look at the shape of Charlie's solo - just theway it looks on the page. A comparison wit many great pieces of classical music will show similar outlines- the rise and fall of melody. The rules of great music - after all - apply to all kinds.
ByCHARLIE CHRISTIAN
and LIONEL HAMPTON
Intro.
Dm?b5
Dm?bs c7
obz r,bt
Copyright O 1940 (Renewed)lnternational Copyright
by REGENT MUSIC CORPORATIONSecured All Rights Reserved
24 TILL TOM SPECIAL
Another solo in minor key. Make special note of the extensive use of the added 9th, added I lth, and added6th(seeBars@ r,Eq,E ll,O 12,@ 13,814,O 15,816,825,9 26,and' C 2il.
ByBENIVY GOODMAN
and LIONEL HAMPTON
Riff behind Vibe
Copyright @ 1941 (Renewed) by REGENT MUSIC CORPORATIONCopyright Renewed by REGENT MUSIC CORP. & JEWEL MUSIC PUBLISHING CO., lNC.
lnternational Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved
nCRAND SLAM
Another blues progression. Charlie takes two swinging choruses. A few points of interest are:Bar @ 4 the Bb7 chord is anticipated by two beatsBar @ 6 the F chord is anticipated by two beatsBar @ 10 the F chord is anticipated by two beatsBar p 1 and p 2 delayed passing tonesBar p 4 (see note for E +)Bar p 6 (see note for tr O)
Bars p 8, D 9, and p l0 many dissonant blue notes used here.
e BENNY &ooro*
lt3
BEJ
(Clarinet Solo)
r,bz> F
C7 F -- a
r,bz
F
rmainder of the record consisting of solos by vibee,piano and clarinet has been omitted.
Copyright @ 1944 by REGENT MUSTC CORPORATTONCopyright Renewed by JEWEL MUSTC pUBL|SHtNc CO., tNC.
lnternational Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved
28SOLO FLIGHT
This is Charlie's most extensive solo recorded with the Goodrnan band. It features guitar all the waythrough, and has Charlie at his most driving and exciting. The interesting points are too numerous to men-tion, but are marked with brackets in the solo itself. They include added 7th,9th,1 lths and 13ths, delayedpassing tones and anticipations.
ByBENIVY GOODMAN,
CHARLIE CHRISTIANand JIMMY MUNDY
FC"()
G Em7E.'(A)
Copyright O 1944 (Renewed) by REGENT MUSIC CORPORATIONCopyright Renewed by REGENT MUSIC CORP. & JEWEL MUSIC PUBLISHING CO., lNC.
lnternational Copvriqht Secured All Riqhts Reserved
NOTAIION> means: an accent
A means: a short accent
^ means: do not pick the 2nd and/or 3rd note
* rne&trs: play the written note, the note above, then the written note again rapidly;
Ex:
(J)means: replace this note with an intense rest. This is called "ghosting" a note.
HARMONIC AI{ALYSISIt is assumed that the student is aware that almost all the notes in Charlie Christian's solos
can be explained harmonically in the following manner:
Chord tones: The Root, 3rd, 5th, 6th or 7th of the rhythm chord indicated
above each solo
Passing tones: These connect chord tones bv step.
Neighbor tones: These lie within a step of, and must resolve to the chord tones
Blue notes: The b7,b3, and b5 of any major scale
*--t--
I played ffi--!-.+--__3-J-
Other points of unusual interest are mentioned above each solo.
Recommended