Charlie Christian was in fine fettle on this recording date (Grand Slam was
also recorded at this session). To quote Jan Evensmos thirty-year-old comments
on this master take of I Surrender, Dear: In
Dear one can listen to one of Christians master soli, a
perfect construction of great beauty. Not a single note is superfluous or wrongly
placed, and the necessary balance and relaxation are always present. Although
I cant agree with Evensmos lukewarm remarks concerning Grand Slam later
in the same paragraph, I thoroughly concur with his thoughts regarding this half-chorus solo.
Theres a beautifully executed transition from E7 to
Am7 at mm 3-4. The D7
figure at bar 6 is notable for its quick wit. As far as I can recall, the A7
phrase at bar 8 is unique to this solo…not heard anywhere else by anyone, anytime.
Same might be said about the sequence in the next measure on which Charles plays an unexpected
E (9th) instead of an
F (♭3, the third of
Dm). Were all familiar with the run at measure 10 from his solos on measure 22 of
Star Dust. Charles closes out his solo with some blues lines on the last four bars.
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