I’ve been revisiting some old friends: Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt, and Wes Montgomery. YouTube has dozens of songs by each, a few videos with Django, and lots of videos (both performances and interviews) with Wes.
For the first two, gather everything you can. Wes’ career was more variable, with his best recordings on Riverside, followed by Verve. A&M included his poppiest recordings. All three were very prolific, and a little detective work will reward you.
Have fun.
Billastro
On my Youtube music account I have playlist by all three. Great stuff!
Everyone has a plan, till you get punched in the face,
"Rose Room" was pivotal in Charlie's career.
He'd been playing in a small band in Oklahoma City, and knew the song backwards and forwards. John Hammond, Sr. (whose son, John Hammond, Jr. recorded four songs with Duane) was a talent scout for Columbia Records. He heard about Charlie, went to see him, was amazed, and arranged for Charlie to meet Benny Goodman. But Benny wasn't impressed with Charlie's playing because he hadn't plugged in his guitar.
That evening, there was a major music industry event with Benny Goodman's band performing. During an intermission, Hammond snuck Charlie onto the bandstand. When Benny saw Charlie, he glared at him and called for a song he thought he wouldn't know. "Rose Room."
For the next 45 minutes or so Charlie improvised chorus after chorus after chorus. By the time he was through, the room was in an uproar and Benny had signed him up.
The rest, so the cliche goes, was history.
Jimmy Smith & Wes Montgomery Dynamic Duo is one of my favorite albums. Such a great combo.
