On May 2 and 3rd 2008, the legendary pioneers of Jazz Guitar, Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt, will be inducted into the Nesuhi Ertegun Hall of Fame with a ceremony at Jazz at the Lincoln Center. For the one or two Guitarists who have never heard of Charlie or Django, they are the one’s responsible for bringing Jazz Guitar as a solo instrument to the forefront of improvised music. Of course, there were other pioneers of Jazz Guitar back in the day. Cats like Eddie Lang, Carl Kress, Dick McDonough and Lonnie Johnson were quite popular to their credit. But none hit the mark like Charlie and Django did when it came to developing a style of playing that featured the single line right alongside the skilled horn players of the day. The Jazz listening public had no choice but to take notice of the way in which Charlie and Django played their instruments practically center-stage as accompanists AND soloists. I sometimes wonder in what direction Jazz Guitar would have traveled if not for these two historical treasures of the genre.

There is also a whole back-story of racial and political issues that I won’t go into now, but suffice it to say, Charlie, along with Benny Goodman, created waves at a time when doing so was not so healthy to one’s career or life expectancy.

Below is the copy from the Calender of Events at the Jazz at Lincoln Center’s website. If you are able to attend this fine celebration, please feel free to share your experience with us.

“Django Reinhardt & Charlie Christian: Celebration of the Jazz Guitar: Your gypsy heart wanders, gliding from the Belgian countryside to the hot clubs of Paris on the undeniable current of your swing. You’re the hero of Oklahoma City, fashioning guitars from cigar boxes and playin’ the heck out of ‘em. You cross color lines and electrify the Benny Goodman Septet with your high-flyin’, high-wattage gee-tar. The House of Swing plays host to a pickin’ party of epic proportions including guitarists Russell Malone, Bobby Broom and Biréli Lagréne and a rhythm section powered by drummer Lewis Nash. Join us as we celebrate the induction of legends Django and Christian into the Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame.”

Swing to Bop: The Music of Charlie Christian Pioneer of the Electric Guitar. By Stan Ayeroff. For Guitar (All). Solos. Jazz. Level: Intermediate-Advanced. Book/CD Set. 240 pages. Published by Mel Bay Publications, Inc. (20196BCD) See more info…