JODIE CHRISTIAN

                 

Jodie Christian (February 2, 1932 – February 13, 2012) was an American jazz pianist, noted for bebop and free jazz.

Christian was born in Chicago, Illinois.] His "father was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, into a share-cropper's family. Realizing the futility of that life, Christian's grandfather sold his livestock and sent his family to Chicago, where Christian was born in 1932 on 44th Street and Prairie Avenue." Christian's mother, a church pianist, helped him with music. When she became director of the church choir, he took over on the piano; sometimes they played organ–piano duets in the church. His father "also sang and played the blues on piano in speakeasies and rent parties, but ultimately stopped performing and followed his wife into the church".Christian attended Wendell Phillips High in Chicago.

Later life and career

Christian was one of the founders of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) with pianist Muhal Richard Abrams, drummer Steve McCall, and composer Phil Cohran. He and Abrams were also part of the Experimental Band.Christian worked at the Jazz Showcase club in Chicago and performed with Eddie Harris, Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, Gene Ammons, Roscoe Mitchell, Buddy Montgomery, and John Klemmer. Christian led a group on albums.He died on February 13, 2012, aged 80, in Chicago.

                   

JODIE CHRISTIANby anders griffen 

Jodie Christian, who died five years ago this month at 80, was a pianist from Chicago, best known locally as a founding member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. Possessing both technical facility and great melodic originality, Christian always preferred the supporting role. He spent most of his life in Chicago and made numerous records with artists like Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz and Les McCann, as well as fellow Chicagoans Gene Ammons, Eddie Harris and Von Freeman. Primarily a straightahead bebop musician, he worked locally with Johnny Griffin, John Gilmore, Victor Sproles, Wilbur Ware and Wilbur Campbell, among many others, and played behind all the big names passing through, such as saxophonists Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Teddy Edwards and Don Byas, to name a few. He also accompanied vocalists and a range of performers from bluesman Jimmy Reed to intrepid saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell. Christian grew up surrounded by music. His parents were both pianists: his mother directed a church choir and his father played the blues at speakeasies and rent parties. His mother was his first teacher and also took him to performances at places like the Savoy, the Regal and the Chicago Theater. He also participated in choirs from a young age and credits this for his early musical training. “I sang all the parts,” he told the Chicago Tribune. “A lot of times I wouldn’t know a song, but I could anticipate what was coming next because I had experience doing that, singing parts.” But he always knew he wanted to play piano and the ability to anticipate what was coming would serve him well in the rhythm section. In the ‘40s he was underage at the Savoy Ballroom when he heard Gene Ammons and Charlie Parker. He had heard some records before, but seeing this music performed live was transformative. He was soon out playing jazz and became a mainstay on Chicago’s rich south side jazz scene from the late ‘40s through the ‘50s and beyond, developing his own provocative voice on the piano. Christian demonstrated leadership as an engaged accompanist, urging the soloists rhythmically and harmonically whatever the situation. Two of his great early records are under the leadership of bop trumpeter Ira Sullivan: Nicky’s Tune and Bird Lives, recorded in 1958 and 1962, respectively. On these early quintet sessions, the pianist’s musical voice and individual feeling are readily apparent. In the ‘60s he appeared on several popular albums by Eddie Harris on Atlantic, including The Electrifying Eddie Harris (1967), Plug Me In (1968), Silver Cycles (1968) and High Voltage (1969). These exhibit the inventive pianist in various settings including boogaloo and jazz funk. The double LP Excursions (Atlantic, 1966–73) includes “Aleph the Fool”, an amazing performance showcasing Christian’s virtuosity and innovation. His accompaniment to Harris is like a simultaneous solo in counterpoint, exploiting the tune’s dissonance, and he constructs the bulk of his own solo out of 2nds, striking adjacent keys simultaneously. His unique energy and musicality is also evidenced on The Chase by Gene Ammons and Dexter Gordon—you can’t miss the animated live audience; this music is burning! In the ‘80s-90s Christian made several great recordings for the Chicago-based Delmark label with artists such as Roscoe Mitchell, Harold Ousley and Eric Alexander. He also made the first recordings under his own name with the label, producing five albums between 1991- 2000 and another one for SteepleChase in 1994. These present a seasoned master who loved the music. v Recommended Listening: • Ira Sullivan—Blue Stroll (with Johnny Griffin) (Delmark, 1959) • Eddie Harris—The Electrifying Eddie Harris (Atlantic-Rhino, 1967) • Roscoe Mitchell Quartet—The Flow of Things (Black Saint, 1986) • Von Freeman—Lester Leaps In (SteepleChase, 1992) • Jodie Christian—Soul Fountain (Delmark, 1994)