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C&A:
Charlie Christian’s previous recordings of Star Dust were all in the key
of D♭, with the
sextet as well as the jam session in September of 1939. This
one (the final version recorded), in the key of C, was recorded with a quintet under the direction of
pianist Teddy Wilson at vocalist Eddy Howard’s session for Columbia Records
and it’s the only song, of four, that accorded Charles a solo.
The rest of
the session is expanded to include an top-notch octet backing the rather
ordinary singer – Charles played a beautiful four-bar intro on the last song.
Charles’ solos on Star Dust with the regular sextet were all the same chord “composition”
that he dedicated to his mother. Here he gets an eight-bar “A” section on
which he plays a single-string selection that can be compared to some of his
single-string work at the afore-mentioned jam session.
You don’t want to miss this one. After a muted-trumpet intro by Bill Coleman
and one vocal chorus, Charles takes his eight bars at a leisurely pace but
with a very rhythmic and creative approach. It’s a gem of a solo. Absolutely
precious.
Shoulda been included in Columbia’s “complete” CC 4-CD box set
released in 2002.
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