Jazz Guitar: An Early History

AASP298Z—Jazz As A Cultural Art Form

Instructor: Dr. Ronald Zeigler

Submitted by: Dennis Deng

May 12, 2014

The electric guitar is an instrument that has become synonymous with rock & roll,

blues, and metal; basically any genre that utilizes heavy amplification and distortion will

look to the electric guitar as their main axe. What people tend to overlook though is the

role the electric guitar has had in jazz, whether as a lead soloist ala Charlie Christian, or

as a backing rhythm ala Freddie Green. In this essay we will explore the history of the

electric (and acoustic) guitar, as well as some of the players that brought this instrument

out of the parlor and into the early jazz scene.

The first incarnation of the guitar was created during the renaissance period in

Spain. It was based on the design of older Middle-Eastern stringed instruments such as

the lute or the oud, both of which were teardrop shaped instruments. The first classical

guitars, which were called “Chitarra”, had 4 strings, 8 frets, and featured the iconic pear

shape that is now commonplace among classical guitars. Adding two more strings created

the “Guitarra”, and once the design found its way to the instrument makers of Europe, the

name eventually changed into just the “Guitar”. While the guitar was growing in

popularity in Europe, it still struggled to gain acceptance in the United States. According

to a PBS article on the history of the guitar, "As early as the 1600s, Spanish settlers had

brought to the New World a European style guitar with five sets of double strings. By

1800 the six-string instrument known today had evolved in southern Europe and was

brought over from places like Italy and France. Though they were seldom known in the

mountains or with the white working class of the South, a study of ex-slave narratives

reveals a number of memories of guitar-playing by blacks in pre-Civil War times, almost

all of them located in the Mississippi River delta. There is little documentation as to how

these guitars were played, but the location is significant: it would later be the center for

the creation of classic delta blues and the birthplace of Jazz. If American vernacular

music has an archetypal instrument it is certainly the guitar…(though) the instrument

didn't really achieve widespread use in the country until the twentieth century." (PBS) As

quoted above, most of the guitar’s development took place during the 1500s-1800s, and

while improvements to the body shape and tonal qualities continued to take place, the

next major change to the guitar did not occur until the early 1900s. All the guitars being

made in Europe and the US during the 1800s were nylon stringed classical guitars, which

produced a warm mellow tone, suited more for classical and flamenco flavored music.

Due to the tonal qualities it possessed, the guitar in America was still seen as a parlor

instrument, a somewhat derogatory term for amateur/female musicians at the time. It was

not until the 1900s that German immigrant Christian Fredrich Martin (founder of the

famous Martin Guitar Company) began adding extra bracing and steel strings to the mix,

allowing for greater string tension (more volume) and brighter sustain. This increased

volume and twangy sound allowed for the guitar to play along with string bands, small

groups, or even as solo instrumentalists. As we noted earlier, the guitar found popularity

in the south, and became the main instrument of many early blues musicians. Probably

the most famous of which was Robert Johnson, nicknamed the “Godfather of Rock &

Roll” due to his influence among a variety of different musicians, from Hendrix, Clapton,

the Rolling Stones, and many more. His unique style consisted of a thumping bass,

played with his thumb, combined with a melody line played using his fingers. This

allowed him to accompany himself, and oftentimes Johnson would play complicated

rhythms consisting of syncopated bass-lines and coordinated melodies, while still singing

the verse over top of all of it. This led to a unique sound that while seemingly simple and

easy to play, was nearly impossible to recreate with the same style and flourish that

Johnson had. Johnson wasn’t the only bluesman of early 1900s to utilize the guitar

though, many others, such as Leadbelly, Blind Blake, and Mississippi John Hurt (as well

as countless others) helped pioneer the delta blues sound. As the blues started

transforming and shaping itself into jazz, the guitar followed suit, though in the beginning

it was utilized solely as a backing instrument. The most prominent jazz rhythm guitarist

was Freddie Green, a musician who worked with the Count Basie orchestra for many

years. He wasn’t really ever a featured soloist, but his rhythm guitar playing was

legendary. To this day, many players over the years have successfully adapted his playing

style into their own. A article on Green’s website states “For over fifty years, Freddie

Green was keeper of the quarter note for Count Basie's band. Like Basie, Freddie

simplified his style over the years, playing only what was necessary and essential. Both

musicians were paragons of economy and good taste. By the time Basie re-formed his big

band in the mid-50's, Freddie's style had been distilled to perfection." (Greene)

It wasn’t until the invention of the electric guitar that the guitar finally stepped out

of its backing role and into lead role. It allowed guitar players to cut through the rhythm

section and finally be heard above the horns, piano and drums. There are many opposing

viewpoints on who actually invented the electric guitar, though one independent guitar

researcher states, "Surprisingly, no one knows who really invented the first electric

guitar. Electric guitar manufacturing companies would obviously love to claim that they

were in fact the creators of the first electric guitar (and they have), but there are three

competing companies, Fender, Gibson, and Rickenbacker that have all contributed to the

development of the electric guitar. The founders of these companies could be considered

the “fathers” of the electric guitar: Leo Fender (Fender), Les Paul (Gibson), and Adolph

Rickenbacker (Rickenbacker). All come from modest backgrounds without university

degrees and with few resources to work with. Their boundless imaginations were all that

was needed to create a great American product that would revolutionize the music world.

These are three different answers from three reasonably reliable sources.” (Paul) Though

all three men are giants in the electric guitar industry, Les Paul was definitely the most

accomplished as a musician, and the Les Paul style electric guitar is an iconic in rock &

roll. While Les Paul wasn’t strictly a jazz musician, having delved into the blues as well

country music, he originally designed the solid body style electric guitar as a jazz

instrument, intending to give jazz a warmer, more sustained sound. Rock and Roll music

owes much of it’s heritage to Les Paul's invention of the solid body electric guitar, which

could be played at a much higher stage volume due to the physical solid body canceling

out any aberrant squeals or acoustic feedback. Les Paul was also the pioneer of multi-

track recording, perfecting the first eight-track recorder, as well as inventing various

effects such as echo, reverb, etc.

This leads us to our first prominent jazz guitarist, and arguably one of the best,

Charlie Christian. Charlie Christian was born in Texas and raised in Oklahoma, learning

the ropes and building his chops by playing in a band with his brother, Edward. In 1939,

Charlie was introduced to the “King of Swing” Benny Goodman, who looking to form a

swing band at the time. The story goes that Goodman, who was originally unimpressed

with the electric guitar and hesitant to hire Charlie, asked him to play on “Rose Room”, a

popular swing tune at the time. Goodman expected him to have some difficulty playing

the tune, since it was in A-flat, an unfamiliar key for most guitarists. Unbeknownst to

him, Charlie originally learned how to play jazz guitar by jamming on “Rose Room”, and

proceeded to blow Goodman away, leading him to hire him on the spot. This was a

monumental breakthrough, since black musicians at the time weren’t really featured in

live swing bands, and a black jazz guitarist was almost unheard of. Despite all of this,

Charlie rose to the occasion, and even though he died young at the age of 26, he left an

indelible mark on future jazz guitarists. In his hands, the electric guitar had a horn-like

sound comparable to that of a tenor sax. Harmonically, he was the first to base his

improvisations not on the main chords of the melody line but on the passing chords that

were used between the basic harmonies. His Gibson ES-150 archtop guitar gave him a

clean, round tone of warmth and power, and his musical ideas paved the way for what

eventually became known as “Bebop”. According to jazz writer Horace Porter, "Christian

paved the way for the modern electric guitar sound that was followed by other pioneers,

including T-Bone Walker, Les Paul, Grant Green, Kenny Burrell, Wes Montgomery,

B.B. King and Jimi Hendrix. For this reason Christian was inducted in 1990 into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an "Early Influence." Christian's exposure was so great in

the brief period he played with Goodman that he influenced not only guitarists, but other

musicians as well. The influence he had on "Dizzy" Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious

Monk and Don Byas can be heard on their early "bop" recordings "Blue'n Boogie" and

"Salt Peanuts." Other musicians, such as trumpeter Miles Davis, cite Christian as an early

influence. Indeed, Christian's "new" sound influenced jazz as a whole. He reigned

supreme in the jazz guitar polls up to two years after his death." (Christian)

The last guitarist that we will cover is one of the most famous guitarists of the

swing era, and is one of my favorite musicians among any genre. As jazz guitar was

developing in America, a similar movement was developing in Europe, focusing on what

would become known as Gypsy Jazz. The pioneer of this genre, Django Reinhardt, is a

true legend in jazz history; romanticized for his life story and idolized for his guitar

playing. Born in 1910, Django Reinhardt grew up in a Romani (Gypsy) camp on the

outskirts of Paris and performed in local cafes with his father when he was a boy. The

story goes that Django nearly lost his life at the age of 18 in a terrible fire in the caravan

where he slept. A candle knocked over in his sleep set the caravan ablaze and scarred him

for life. Two fingers on his left hand were paralyzed and his left leg was badly damaged.

In spite of this tragedy, Django kept on playing guitar. When he first heard recordings of

the exciting new music being made in America by Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington,

Django was inspired to experiment. He began blending jazz rhythms with traditional

European gypsy music into the fiery style that is Gypsy Jazz. Due to his injuries, Django

developed a style that is his own, utilizing unique chord voicings, blazing fast arpeggios,

and open string jazz runs. His injuries, once thought of as detriment, allowed him to view

the guitar in a way that was never thought of before, and create musical ideas that seem to

come out of left field. According to Joseph Dinkins, “Django Reinhardt has astounded

and thrilled numerous generations of guitar players and jazz lovers with his amazing

command of the guitar…Django created a whole new fingering system built around the

two fingers on his left hand that had full mobility. His fourth and fifth digits of the left

hand were permanently curled towards the palm due to the tendons shrinking from the

heat of the fire. He could use them on the first two strings of the guitar for chords and

octaves but complete extension of these fingers was impossible. His soloing was all done

with the index and middle fingers! Film clips of Django show his technique to be

graceful and precise, almost defying belief.” (Django)

It is impossible to cover all of the techniques, genres, and musicians that

encompass jazz guitar; to do so would require a lifetime of research and writing. What

I’ve hoped to have done in this essay is to give a little insight into how the guitar has

transformed over the years: from its evolution from a gut stringed, lute like instrument,

all the way to the solid body electric guitar of the modern era. Looking back at how the

guitar was utilized in both blues and jazz, it’s easy to see that as blues transitioned into

jazz, the guitar also transitioned right along, morphing itself to fulfill the music nuances

required by each genre. One of the great advantages the guitar has is in its versatility; the

different tones it can produce allow it to fit into almost every genre, from jazz to country,

and everything in between.

Works Cited

"American Roots Music - The Guitar." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.

Broadbent, Peter. Charlie Christian: Solo Flight: The Story of the Seminal Electric

Guitarist. Blaydon on Tyne: Ashley Mark, 2003. Print.

"Distilling Big Band Guitar: The Essence of Freddie Green." Distilling Big Band Guitar:

The Essence of Freddie Green. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.

"Django Reinhardt." Django Reinhardt. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.

"Les Paul." TODAY.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.