This is the second of two slow blues that the Kansas City Six played at the
From Spirituals to Swing concert on Christmas eve 1939 at Carnegie Hall.
This one is even slower than the first (Good Morning Blues) but Charles solo is no less magnificent.
Prez takes the first three choruses on Paging the Devil with
support provided by all five of the other participants, including both guitarists.
Charlie Christians solo starts with the same one-bar phrase he would again use
more than a year later to begin both takes of his famous acoustic guitar solos on Profoundly
Blue (also in Eb) after that opening
all three solos take different directions. The two dom7
phrases at mm 4-5 are back-to-back related constructions with the second starting off with
a different little twist. Some other noteworthy phrases are the diminished descent
at mm 8-9 in the first chorus and the beauty on the fourth bar of the second chorus.
Whereas on Good Morning Blues(recorded at this same concert) Charles plays out his solo as two separate
12-bar choruses, here he treats the solo more like its just one 24-bar chorus.
The pacing, phrasing, dynamics, and logic of Charles solo is perfect throughout. Sublime blues solo.
And then, of course, Freddie Green is there on rhythm guitar. Virtually a
duet by the two greatest talents ever in their respective skills.
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