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Articles
Searching For Charlie Christian, Part II by Dr. Wayne Goins (Excerpt from Jazz Improv Magazine Volume 5, Number 1) In the Summer 2004 issue of Jazz Improv magazine (V4N4), I shared with you the exciting adventures of myself, wife Deborah, and jazz historian Leo Valdes as we journeyed through Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on a fact-finding mission regarding the early days of the career of the first star of electric guitar, Charlie Christian. During that three-day excursion, we were escorted by none other than the ‘elegant militant,’ Ms. Anita Arnold, Oklahoma City civic leader, president of BLAC Inc.— the arts organization that hosts the annual Charlie Christian Festival—and author of three excellent books devoted to the legacy of Charlie Christian and the Deep Deuce. Arnold helped us make direct connections with the following dignitaries: Emmy-Award winning journalist George Wesley; Isaac and Johnnie Kimbro, who, along with both guitarist Charlie Christian and novelist Ralph Ellison, went to famed Douglass School and studied under music guru Zelia Breaux; ‘Deuce Award’ winner and tireless champion of the Charlie Christian Festival, Harold Jones; Oklahoma Historical Society historian Bruce Fisher and curator Rodger Harris; and representing the coup de grace, Charlie Christian childhood sweetheart Margretta Lorraine Downey and daughter Billie Jean Johnson, the sole offspring of Charlie Christian. Our visitation in October was so successful that I knew I had to return to the city to follow up on the wide range of topics that we so doggedly pursued — there never seemed to be enough time while we were there on that first trip. As Leo and I compared notes and shared the wealth of information we’d gathered, we knew it would take several months before we could successfully integrate the new material into what we already thought we knew about Charlie’s legacy. Though we realized the significance of having covered new ground, we also knew that these gems only led to even deeper questions about exactly who this jazz pioneer was and precisely how he came to be. I waded through my treasures and waited for the a next stroke of luck to light the way for my next venture. Indeed, lightning did strike, and it didn’t take long. In early January I got an email from Leo, who told me there were postings on a highly touted website of a colleague and fellow Christian devotee, Garry Hansen [http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/Hansen/Charlie] designed for Charlie Christian fans. Hansen’s site had a newly-featured addition: a series of installments chronicling the early days of Charlie Christian, witnessed by none other than Charlie’s older brother Clarence. This material, rare as it was, represented a first-hand account of Charlie Christian’s gradual development from novice musician to top-shelf local celebrity on Oklahoma City’s Deep Deuce. Fortune had smiled on me once again. But now I had other questions running through my mind: Who would have such valuable information at their disposal? How did they get it? Why hadn’t they released it before? Where could I find him? Why was he suddenly willing to share this with the world? I immediately sent Hansen an email introducing myself and telling him about what Leo and I were working on. He said he’d get a message to Craig McKinney, the owner of the material. Craig is an estate lawyer who lived, of all places, in Topeka, Kansas—literally right up the road from me. Lady Luck had struck again. Three days later I got an email from McKinney saying he got the message that I was looking for him. I wrote back and requested that we speak on the phone, at which point I convinced him that we had an incredible amount in common regarding our mutual interest, and that it would be worth his while if he came over to Manhattan—only a forty-minute drive west from his law office—to talk about the events that occurred in Charlie’s life. I managed to persuade him, and he hopped in his car and headed my way. The meeting went quite smoothly. We both agreed that we each had some pretty incredible material to share with the world, and that it would be mutually beneficial to combine our resources and talent to create a singular product that offered a unique perspective on the life of Charlie Christian—one that came not primarily from our words, but mainly from the people who were closest to him. After all, who better than his musical colleagues and family members—namely his brother, his only daughter, and the woman who shared the formative years with him and bore his only child? As a regular gigging jazz guitarist, big band director, and music researcher, I knew how I’d been bitten by the Charlie Christian bug. But how had Craig come across such a bounty? On the surface it seemed like his interest in Charlie might be a spare-time hobby at best. Nothing could be further from the truth. It couldn’t have been further from the truth. Craig’s life, like so many others, had been totally transformed by a personal encounter, a sudden and eye-opening experience with the recordings of Charlie Christian that made him realize this was no ordinary guitar player. He was a student at Washburn University in 1975 when a friend recommended he check out Charlie Christian’s guitar style. He went to the local music store and picked up a copy of the Columbia double album, Solo Flight. After repeated listenings, “It changed my life forever,” he confessed. Thus he began what was referred to as “missionary work” a year later, deliberately leaving his dorm room door open at all hours so that everyone could hear just how much hipper Charlie was compared to other guitarists. In January of 1978, Craig, who majored in history, needed to come up with a senior thesis project. After reading the well-known documentary of Christian’s early days in Oklahoma City written by famed novelist Ralph Ellison, Craig learned that Charlie had an older brother Clarence who might be still alive, or, better yet, still living in Oklahoma City! But what were the chances? He looked through the Oklahoma City phone book and found a name and number that, unbelievably, connected him to Clarence Christian. He dialed. Unsure of whether he had the right individual, he asked pointedly,” Was Charles Christian your brother?” Clarence replied solemnly, “that was MY brother!” Clarence then agreed to sit for an interview which totally shocked Craig. That winter he and friend Kevin Centlivre prepared for the drive from Topeka, Kansas to Oklahoma City. When they got there, Craig documented, according to Kevin, “a couple of hours of taped interview, photographs, and the most concise biographical information ever gathered on the innovative, pioneering musician.” They soon discovered that Clarence was an extremely wise, sensitive, and caring individual, a musician in his own right, who’d semi-retired from music after Charles’ death. They learned that Clarence and Charlie were as close as two brothers could be, and that Clarence served as a protector of Charlie from the outset, and knew his habits about as well as anyone. They learned that “Charlie” was never called Charlie in Oklahoma City in the days before his success with Benny Goodman—Benny used that moniker as a term of affection. They also learned that Charlie’s grave in Bonham was a whole lot harder to find than they ever could have imagined. They would return again in the spring of that same year, gathering more notes and interviews. By now, Craig and Clarence had developed a close relationship and had several correspondences by mail and phone. Craig conducted even more interviews with local Oklahoma City musicians. (Article continued in Jazz Improv Magazine Volume 5, Number 1) |