Charlie Christian, Guitar, 1926, Texas
Charlie grew up in a slum section of Oklahoma City where his father, a blind guitarest and singer, taught him and his brothers, Edward and Clarence, to play the guitar. Charlie himself built and played cigar-box "guitars" during his elementary school days. By the time he was in his early '20s he was a much-admired guitarist in the Oklahoma City area, playing an amplified acoustic guitar. While doing some radio work he was heard by the promoter John Hammond, who arranged for him to travel to Los Angeles for an audition with Benny Goodman who hired him immediately . Goodman featured Charlie frequently on recordings and radio broadcasts, and within a short period of time he became nationally prominent. Unfortunately his success was brief. He contracted tuberculosis in mid '41 and died a few months later. Christian was among the first guitarists to amplify his guitar and was clearly the most brilliant soloist of his time on the instrument. His impact on younger bop guitarists was enormous. Had he lived longer he doubtless would have become the first great bop guitarist. Although his rhythmic and harmonic conceptions lagged somewhat behind the younger guitarists ,Christian is considered to be among the most creative soloists of the swing period. Charlie Christian died in 1942.
Vic Lewis, Guitar/Cornet, 1919, England
In addition to playing the guitar and cornet, Vic also sang and led his own band. During the mid '30s he worked with many prominent English musicians, including George Shearing. In 1939 Vic visited New York where he performed with Bobby Hackett. Also in 1939 he led a recording session of his own with American musicians Bobby Hackett, Eddie Condon, Zutty Singelton, and several others. During the war years he played with several jazz bands while serving in the RAF. During the latter '40s, Vic performed with Stephane Grappelli and led a dixieland band with Jack Parnell. He also formed the first of several big bands in England that recorded frequently during this period. The format of these bands was based on that of Stan Kenton's orchestra. Lewis continued to play and record with his own bands during most of the 1960s, though after 1959 he also took on the professions of booking agent and manager. Vic Lewis, along with Ted Heath, were the most prominant of the big bands in England in the post-war era.
Don Redman, Bandleader, Piedmont, NY 1900
Don, a child prodigy from a musical family, learned to play most conventional instruments by the time he finished high school. Around this time he also began writing arrangements. At the age of 20 he graduated from college with a degree in music. After working professionally for about a year in his native town, he moved to Pittsburgh where he joined a band led by Billy Paige. He played clarinet, sax, and did some writing with this band. While on tour with Paige, Don met Fletcher Henderson in New York and did some recording with him. Shortly after recording with Henderson, Don joined his orchestra full time, both playing and arranging. In the mid '20s Louis Armstrong also joined Henderson's band and had a great impact on Don's jazz writing. Don left Henderson around 1927 and became music director of McKinney's Cotton Pickers, and within in a few months transformed the group from a little-known novelty group into a major jazz orchestra. Redman was becoming very experienced at this time, and his writing became more elaborate, especially in harmony and rhythm. Through most of the 1930s Don led his own band, recording and doing radio broadcasts. He spent most of the '40s writing for numerous big bands and for radio and television. Throughout most of the '50s Don worked as Pearl Bailey's music director. He seldom performed during the final years of his life, although he did write several extended works that have never been performed publicly. Don Redman was an outstanding jazz composer and arranger, greatly influencing Henderson's band and many that followed. Don Redman died in 1964.
