Solo Flight: The Genius of Charlie Christian - Personnel

Personnel

Musical

Track 1 Side 1 recorded in New York, 2 October 1939. Tracks 2 & 3 Side 1 recorded in New York 22 Nov 1939. Personnel (Benny Goodman Sextet):

• Benny Goodman — clarinet
• Lionel Hampton — vibes
• Fletcher Henderson — piano
• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Artie Bernstein — bass
• Nick Fatool — drums

Track 4 Side 1 recorded in New York, 22 Nov 1939. Personnel (Benny Goodman and His Orchestra):

• Jimmy Maxwell, Ziggy Elman, Johnny Martel — trumpets
• Red Ballard, Vernon Brown, Ted Vesely — trombones
• Benny Goodman — clarinet
• Toots Mondello, Buff Estes — alto saxophones
• Bus Bassey, Jerry Jerome — tenor saxophones
• Fletcher Henderson — piano
• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Artie Bernstein — bass
• Nick Fatool — drums

Track 5 Side 1 recorded in New York, 7 Feb 1940. Personnel was drawn from Metronome Magazine's annual reader's poll for the top instrumentalists. Metronome often gathered the winners (or near-winners) to record a few tracks together, and released the results on various record labels of the day. Metronome All Star Nine:

• Harry James — trumpet
• Jack Teagarden — trombone
• Benny Goodman — clarinet
• Benny Carter — alto saxophone
• Eddie Miller — tenor saxophone
• Jess Stacy — piano
• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Bob Haggart — bass
• Gene Krupa — drums

Track 6 Side 1 recorded in New York, 7 Feb 1940. Personnel (Benny Goodman Sextet):

• Benny Goodman — clarinet
• Lionel Hampton — vibes
• Count Basie — piano
• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Artie Bernstein — bass

Track 7 Side 1 recorded in New York, 7 Feb 1940. Personnel (Benny Goodman Sextet): Same as Track 6, adding:

• Nick Fatool — drums

Tracks 1-3 Side 2 recorded privately at a club in Minneapolis, MN, early Mar 1940, on acetate discs, by a local disc jockey. Personnel (Charlie Christian Sextet):

• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Jerry Jerome — tenor saxophone
• Frankie Hines — piano
• unknown — bass, drums

Track 4 Side 2 recorded in Los Angeles, 16 Apr 1940. Personnel (Benny Goodman Sextet):

• Benny Goodman — clarinet
• Lionel Hampton — vibes
• Johnny Guarnieri — piano
• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Artie Bernstein — bass
• Nick Fatool — drums

Tracks 5 & 6, Side 2 recorded in Los Angeles, 20 Jun 1940. Personnel (Benny Goodman Sextet):

• Benny Goodman — clarinet
• Lionel Hampton — vibes
• Dudley Brooks — piano
• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Artie Bernstein — bass
• Nick Fatool — drums

Track 7, Side 2 recorded in New York, 7 Nov 1940. Personnel (Benny Goodman and His Sextet):

• Benny Goodman — clarinet
• Cootie Williams — trumpet
• George Auld — tenor saxophone
• Count Basie — piano
• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Artie Bernstein — bass
• Harry Jaeger — drums

Tracks 1-4, Side 3 recorded in New York, 7 Nov 1940. Personnel (Benny Goodman and His Sextet featuring Count Basie):

• Benny Goodman — clarinet
• Cootie Williams — trumpet
• George Auld — tenor saxophone
• Count Basie] — piano
• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Artie Bernstein — bass
• Harry Jaeger — drums

Tracks 5-7, Side 3 recorded in New York 19 Dec 1940. Personnel (Benny Goodman and His Sextet):

• Benny Goodman — clarinet
• Cootie Williams — trumpet
• George Auld — tenor saxophone
• Ken Kersey — piano
• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Artie Bernstein — bass
• Harry Jaeger — drums

Tracks 1-3, Side 4 recorded in New York 15 Jan 1941. Personnel (Benny Goodman and His Sextet featuring Count Basie):

• Benny Goodman — clarinet
• Cootie Williams — trumpet
• George Auld — tenor saxophone
• Count Basie — piano
• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Artie Bernstein — bass
• Jo Jones — drums

Track 4, Side 4 recorded in New York, 4 Mar 1941. Personnel (Benny Goodman and His Orchestra):

• Cootie Williams, Alec Fila, Jimmy Maxwell, Irving Goodman — trumpets
• Lou McGarity, Cutty Cutshall — trombones
• Skip Martin, Gus Bivona — alto saxophones
• Benny Goodman — clarinet
• George Auld, Pete Mondello — tenor saxophones
• Bob Snyder — baritone saxophone
• Johnny Guarnieri — piano
• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Artie Bernstein — bass
• Dave Tough — drums

Tracks 5 & 6, Side 4 recorded in New York, 13 Mar 1941 during warm-up sessions while members of the Benny Goodman Sextet waited for their tardy leader. Columbia Records' practice at the time was to record all takes, partial takes, and sometimes warm-ups, onto acetate discs. These two performances were culled from one such disc. Personnel ("Charlie Christian Jammers"):

• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Cootie Williams — trumpet (Track 6 only)
• George Auld — tenor saxophone
• Johnny Guarnieri — piano
• Artie Bernstein — bass
• Dave Tough — drums

Track 7, Side 4 recorded in New York, 13 Mar 1941. Personnel (Benny Goodman and His Sextet featuring Count Basie):

• Benny Goodman — clarinet
• Cootie Williams — trumpet
• George Auld — tenor saxophone
• Johnny Guarnieri — piano
• Artie Bernstein — bass
• Dave Tough — drums

Technical

• Chris Albertson - compilation producer, liner notes
• Gene Lees - liner notes
• John Hammond - liner notes