Today's playlist, our 13th installment, features the pioneer of bebop jazz, Charlie Christian. I bought this record at Flash Disc Ranch, my favorite record store in Shimokitazawa. I've been going to this store since shortly after I moved to Setagaya. Their loyalty card, which never expires as long as the store is around, has an amazing system: once you collect 50 stamps, you get 50% off any number of records under ¥15,000. Shimokitazawa is a place that always tempts me to get off the Odakyu Line on my way home. Whenever I get off at Shimokita, I always stop by this store, buy a few records, and then head home. I've been doing this for about five years now.
Charlie was born in Texas but moved to Oklahoma City in his early childhood. He began seriously playing the electric guitar around 1936.
In 1939, he was discovered by John Hammond, a music critic and advisor to Benny Goodman, and participated in an audition for the Goodman Orchestra. There's an anecdote that Charlie didn't have his own guitar at the time and borrowed one from his friend Les Paul. He performed magnificently for 90 minutes and was accepted into the Benny Goodman Orchestra.
In 1940, he contracted tuberculosis, but despite his doctor's advice, Charlie continued his philandering and marijuana use.
He spent his days working with Benny Goodman and his nights enjoying jam sessions with young musicians in New York clubs. This was the era of bebop, a precursor to new jazz.
In 1941, sessions at Minton's Playhouse with Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk, a historical turning point in bebop jazz, were recorded by young sound engineer Jerry Newman and now exist as "Charlie Christian at Minton's."
In 1942, his tuberculosis worsened, and he passed away at the age of 25.
At WAITER-U, we not only select camping gear but also music, books, and movies.
I also create playlists on Spotify, so please feel free to listen to them in your car on your way to a camping trip.
