“Flying Home”—Charlie Christian with the Benny Goodman Sextet
In the mid 1930s Benny Goodman popularized the “band within a band” idea by adding Lionel Hampton and Teddy Wilson to his entourage, forming a quartet with himself and Gene Krupa. After Krupa and Wilson departed to lead their own outfits, the quartet -- or sometimes trio, or quintet -- had seen many personnel changes until it emerged as a sextet in 1939. Any doubts one might have had concerning the freedom of action afforded in the Benny Goodman Sextet in comparison to similar groups, may rest assured that the new outfit did not suffer from the size. The first recorded evidence: “Flying Home.”
Benny Goodman Sextet: Benny Goodman-clarinet; Fletcher Henderson-piano; Lionel Hampton-vibraphone; Charlie Christian-electric guitar; Artie Bernstein-standing bass; and Nick Fatool-drums.
This first recording session of Charlie Christian with Benny Goodman, for the Columbia Recording company in New York on October 2, 1939, introduced such remarkable and enduring records that I present all four titles recorded that Monday. After the first take of Lionel Hampton‘s “Flying Home” came a second take of the same tune which was released on a V-Disc as “Homeward Bound.” This was recorded just a month after the beginning of WWII. V-Discs were produced by the Music Branch of the Special Services Division of the U.S. War Department.
Then came Art Hickman’s 1919 “Rose Room (In Sunny Roseland).” How this became the auditioning tune for Charlie Christian to play with Goodman is described below.
And the fourth and last track was Hoagy Carmichael’s 1927 composition “Star Dust.” This record is an example of a disc-jockey’s promotion copy. That is why the matrix was called DJ-26134. The only 78 rpm issue of this recording ever made commercially available was issued in Japan by Nippon Columbia in Kawasaki.
In newspaper reviews of these new records, Charlie Christian (1916-1942) was described as Goodman’s “latest sepia discovery.” Actually Christian was not discovered by Benny but by pianist/composer Mary Lou Williams, who tipped record producer John Hammond that she found a great electric guitar player in Oklahoma. Hammond convinced Goodman to fly Christian to California for an audition.
Between August 10th and 16th 1939 Benny Goodman and his Orchestra were doing three recording sessions for Columbia in Los Angeles. In the middle of one afternoon session Charlie Christian walked into the 7th Avenue studio to audition. According to Hammond, Charlie was “wearing a large hat, his purple shirt and yellow shoes, lugging an amplifier and his guitar case. Benny took one look, his eyes steely behind those glasses, and went back to business at hand.” When the session ended and Goodman was about to leave the studio, Hammond begged him “Won’t you at least listen? He’s come all the way from Oklahoma to play for you.”
The Swing King, fresh from a record-breaking appearance at the San Francisco exposition, where he played to more than a million persons in three weeks, and while recording at Columbia’s West Coast studios during the day, he had just begun an engagement at actor Benny Rubin’s top film land spot the Victor Hugo restaurant in Beverly Hills. The following night Goodman did a super-special concert at the Hollywood Bowl, and the bandleader was now busy preparing for four nights a week over KORE and Mutual-Don Lee stations, as well as adapting Felix Mendelsohn’s music into a swing version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Benny said impatiently: “John, I’ve got things on my mind,” Then Goodman paused, glanced at Charlie, and agreed. “Okay,” he said, “chord me on ‘Tea For Two’.”
Hammond said: “Charlie never had a chance to plug in his amplifier. Benny, of course was not impressed and the audition ended.”
After Goodman had left the studio Hammond told the disappointed Charlie to meet him in the kitchen of the Victor Hugo restaurant on 233 North Beverley drive at eight-thirty, the time Goodman was to conclude his first set.
Hammond recalled: “While Benny was having dinner, Artie and I carried Charlie Christian’s amplifier into the restaurant and set it up on the bandstand, where it would be ready when the moment came. When the time came for them to play, Charlie Christian, still wearing his only costume, appeared through the kitchen door. Goodman watched Charlie approach the bandstand, looked around the room until he spotted me, and zapped me with the famous Goodman “ray.” But before the audience there was nothing he could do but go along at least for one tune. He chose “Rose Room,” a standard familiar to Goodman audiences, though one he assumed Charlie would not know. This would be Benny’s revenge for my interference.”
Hammond continued: “I am reasonably certain Christian had never heard “Rose Room” before, because it was a West Coast song not in the repertoire of most black bands.” But that was no problem for the Texas-born guitarist, who, according to Hammond “had ears like antennae. All he had to do was to hear the melody and chord structure once and he was ready to play twenty-five choruses, each more inventive than the last. Which is what happened. Benny would play a chorus or two, Lionel would answer him, and their talent would inspire Charlie to greater improvisations of his own. Before long the crowd was screaming with amazement. “Rose Room” continued for more than three-quarters of an hour and Goodman received an ovation unlike any even he had before. No one present will ever forget it, least of all Benny.”
