Editing Charlie Christian (section)

=== National fame ===
{{more citations needed section|date=September 2016}}
[[File:Benny Goodman and Charlie Christian (1941-04 photo at Carl Fischer studio).jpg|thumb|[[Benny Goodman]] and Christian in a recording studio, April 1941]]
In 1939, Christian auditioned for John Hammond, who recommended him to bandleader [[Benny Goodman]], who was only the fourth white bandleader to feature Black musicians in his live band. Goodman had previously heard electric guitarists [[Leonard Ware]] and [[Floyd Smith (musician)|Floyd Smith]], among others, and he unsuccessfully tried to buy Smith's contract from bandleader [[Andy Kirk (musician)|Andy Kirk]].<ref name="goins" />

There are multiple accounts of Christian and Goodman's first meeting. The former recalled in a 1940 article in [[Metronome magazine|''Metronome'']] magazine, "I guess neither one of us liked what I played." Despite this, Christian claimed that Goodman invited him to a show that evening. According to another account, Hammond decided to install Christian as the band's guitarist without consulting Goodman.<ref>Amy Lee, Amy (1940). "Charlie Christian Tried to Play Hot Tenor!" [[Metronome magazine|''Metronome'']].</ref>

Goodman's band, including Christian on guitar, played that night at Victor Hugo restaurant in [[Los Angeles]]. The bandleader called "Rose Room", a tune he assumed Christian did not know. However, Christian knew the tune and took an unprecedented twenty choruses of improvisation; Goodman hired him as a member of the band as a result. In the course of a few days, Christian went from making $2.50 a night to $150 a week.<ref name="Solo Flight">Liner notes. ''Solo Flight: The Genius of Charlie Christian''. Columbia G 30779.</ref>

Christian joined the newly formed Goodman Sextet in September 1939, which included [[Lionel Hampton]], [[Fletcher Henderson]], [[Artie Bernstein]] and [[Nick Fatool]].<ref name="feather">[[Leonard Feather|Feather, Leonard]]: (1960). ''The Encyclopedia of Jazz''. Horizon Press.</ref>

Amateur recordings made in September 1939 in [[Minneapolis, Minnesota]], by Jerry Newhouse, a Goodman aficionado, capture the newly hired Christian while on the road with Goodman and feature Goodman's tenor sax player [[Jerry Jerome (musician)|Jerry Jerome]] and then-local bassist [[Oscar Pettiford]]. Taking multiple solos, Christian shows much the same improvisational skills later captured on the [[Minton's]] and Monroe's recordings in 1941, suggesting that he had already matured as a musician.<ref name="Solo Flight" /> The Minneapolis recordings include "[[Stardust (1927 song)|Stardust]]", "[[Tea for Two (song)|Tea for Two]]", and "[[I've Got Rhythm]]", the latter a favorite of bop composers and jammers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Charlie Christian - Electric Album Reviews, Songs & More {{!}} AllMusic |website=[[AllMusic]] |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/electric-mw0002167624 |access-date=2023-03-17 |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Charlie Christian and Gene Krupa (1940-02-07 Metronome All-Stars session photo).jpg|thumb|Christian with [[Gene Krupa]] at Columbia Studios during an All-Stars session (February 7, 1940)

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By February 1940, Christian dominated the jazz and swing guitar polls and was elected to the [[Metronome All Stars]]. In the spring of 1940, Goodman laid off most of his band, but he retained Christian, and in the fall of that year Goodman led a sextet with Christian, [[Count Basie]], longtime [[Duke Ellington]] trumpeter [[Cootie Williams]], former [[Artie Shaw]] tenor saxophonist [[Georgie Auld]] and later drummer [[Dave Tough]]. This all-star band dominated the jazz polls in 1941, including another election to the Metronome All Stars for Christian.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}}

His work on the Goodman sextet sides "Soft Winds", "Till Tom Special", and "A Smo-o-o-oth One" show his use of few well-placed melodic notes. His work on the Sextet's recordings of the ballads "[[Stardust (1927 song)|Stardust]]", "[[Memories of You]]", "[[Poor Butterfly]]", "[[I Surrender Dear]]" and "On the Alamo" and his work on "Profoundly Blue" with the [[Edmond Hall]] Celeste Quartet (1941) show hints of what was later called [[cool jazz]].<ref name="blogs.myspace.com" /><ref>"Jazz". ''World Book Encyclopedia''.</ref> Although credited for very few, Christian composed many of the original tunes recorded by the Benny Goodman Sextet.<ref>Albertson, Chris. Liner notes. Columbia G 30779.</ref>