Solo Flight: The Genius of Charlie Christian

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1. "Rose Room" (A. Hickman, H. Williams) – Benny Goodman Sextet - 2:45
2. "Memories of You" (E. Blake, A. Razaf) – Benny Goodman Sextet - 3:06
3. "Seven Come Eleven" (B. Goodman, C. Christian) – Benny Goodman Sextet - 2:46
4. "Honeysuckle Rose" (T. Waller, A. Razaf) - Benny Goodman and His Orchestra - 3:01
5. "All Star Strut" (Mergentroid) - Metronome All Star Nine - 3:10
6. "Till Tom Special" (B. Goodman, L. Hampton) - Benny Goodman Sextet - 3:00
7. "Gone With "What" Wind" (C. Basie, B. Goodman) - Benny Goodman Sextet - 3:20

1. "I Got Rhythm" (I. Gershwin, G. Gershwin) – Charlie Christian Quintet - 5:46. A combination of two separate recordings.^[5]
2. "Stardust" (H. Carmichael, M. Parish) – Charlie Christian Quintet - 5:30
3. "Tea for Two" (I. Caesar, V. Youmans) – Charlie Christian Quintet - 4:28. Above 3 are amateur recordings at a Minneapolis nightclub.^[6]
4. "Boy Meets Goy (Grand Slam)" (B. Goodman) – Benny Goodman Sextet - 2:50
5. "Six Appeal" (B. Goodman) - Benny Goodman Sextet - 3:18
6. "Good Enough to Keep (Air Mail Special)" (J. Mundy, B. Goodman, C. Christian) - Benny Goodman Sextet - 2:54
7. "Wholly Cats" (B. Goodman) - Benny Goodman and His Sextet featuring Count Basie - 3:03

1. "Wholly Cats" (B. Goodman) - Benny Goodman and His Sextet featuring Count Basie - 3:01
2. "As Long As I Live" (H. Arlen, T. Koehler) - Benny Goodman and His Sextet featuring Count Basie - 3:16
3. "Benny's Bugle" (B. Goodman) - Benny Goodman and His Sextet featuring Count Basie - 3:03
4. "Royal Garden Blues" (C. Williams, S. Williams) - Benny Goodman and His Sextet featuring Count Basie - 2:59
5. "Breakfast Feud" (B. Goodman) - Benny Goodman and His Sextet - 3:06
6. "I Can't Give You Anything But Love (Baby)" (D. Fields, J. McHugh) - Benny Goodman and His Sextet - 3:20
7. "Gilly" (B. Goodman) - Benny Goodman and His Sextet - 2:33

1. "Breakfast Feud" (B. Goodman) - Benny Goodman and His Sextet featuring Count Basie - 4:24
2. "On the Alamo" (G. Kahn, I. Jones) - Benny Goodman and His Sextet featuring Count Basie - 3:23
3. "I've Found a New Baby" (J. Palmer, S. Williams) - Benny Goodman and His Sextet featuring Count Basie - 3:00
4. "Solo Flight" (C. Christian, J. Mundy, B. Goodman) - Benny Goodman and His Orchestra - 2:45
5. "Blues in B" (B. Goodman) - Charlie Christian Jammers - 1:43
6. "Waitin' for Benny" (B. Goodman) - Charlie Christian Jammers - 5:06. The Jammers were actually members of the Benny Goodman Sextet; the above 2 tracks were warm-up recordings made by the Sextet on March 13, 1941, as they waited for the tardy bandleader.^[7]
7. "Good Enough to Keep (Air Mail Special)" (J. Mundy, B. Goodman, C. Christian) - Benny Goodman and His Sextet - 3:45

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Musical

Track 1 Side 1 recorded in New York, 2 October 1939. Tracks 2 & 3 Side 1 recorded in New York 22 Nov 1939. Personnel (Benny Goodman Sextet):

• Benny Goodman — clarinet
• Lionel Hampton — vibes
• Fletcher Henderson — piano
• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Artie Bernstein — bass
• Nick Fatool — drums

Track 4 Side 1 recorded in New York, 22 Nov 1939. Personnel (Benny Goodman and His Orchestra):

• Jimmy Maxwell, Ziggy Elman, Johnny Martel — trumpets
• Red Ballard, Vernon Brown, Ted Vesely — trombones
• Benny Goodman — clarinet
• Toots Mondello, Buff Estes — alto saxophones
• Bus Bassey, Jerry Jerome — tenor saxophones
• Fletcher Henderson — piano
• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Artie Bernstein — bass
• Nick Fatool — drums

Track 5 Side 1 recorded in New York, 7 Feb 1940. Personnel was drawn from Metronome Magazine's annual reader's poll for the top instrumentalists. Metronome often gathered the winners (or near-winners) to record a few tracks together, and released the results on various record labels of the day. Metronome All Star Nine:

• Harry James — trumpet
• Jack Teagarden — trombone
• Benny Goodman — clarinet
• Benny Carter — alto saxophone
• Eddie Miller — tenor saxophone
• Jess Stacy — piano
• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Bob Haggart — bass
• Gene Krupa — drums

Track 6 Side 1 recorded in New York, 7 Feb 1940. Personnel (Benny Goodman Sextet):

• Benny Goodman — clarinet
• Lionel Hampton — vibes
• Count Basie — piano
• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Artie Bernstein — bass

Track 7 Side 1 recorded in New York, 7 Feb 1940. Personnel (Benny Goodman Sextet): Same as Track 6, adding:

• Nick Fatool — drums

Tracks 1–3 Side 2 recorded privately at a club in Minneapolis, MN, early Mar 1940, on acetate discs, by a local disc jockey.^[9] Personnel (Charlie Christian Sextet):

• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Jerry Jerome — tenor saxophone
• Frankie Hines — piano
• unknown — bass, drums

Track 4 Side 2 recorded in Los Angeles, 16 Apr 1940. Personnel (Benny Goodman Sextet):

• Benny Goodman — clarinet
• Lionel Hampton — vibes
• Johnny Guarnieri — piano
• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Artie Bernstein — bass
• Nick Fatool — drums

Tracks 5 & 6, Side 2 recorded in Los Angeles, 20 Jun 1940. Personnel (Benny Goodman Sextet):

• Benny Goodman — clarinet
• Lionel Hampton — vibes
• Dudley Brooks — piano
• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Artie Bernstein — bass
• Nick Fatool — drums

Track 7, Side 2 recorded in New York, 7 Nov 1940. Personnel (Benny Goodman and His Sextet):

• Benny Goodman — clarinet
• Cootie Williams — trumpet
• George Auld — tenor saxophone
• Count Basie — piano
• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Artie Bernstein — bass
• Harry Jaeger — drums

Tracks 1–4, Side 3 recorded in New York, 7 Nov 1940. Personnel (Benny Goodman and His Sextet featuring Count Basie):

• Benny Goodman — clarinet
• Cootie Williams — trumpet
• George Auld — tenor saxophone
• Count Basie] — piano
• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Artie Bernstein — bass
• Harry Jaeger — drums

Tracks 5–7, Side 3 recorded in New York 19 Dec 1940. Personnel (Benny Goodman and His Sextet):

• Benny Goodman — clarinet
• Cootie Williams — trumpet
• George Auld — tenor saxophone
• Ken Kersey — piano
• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Artie Bernstein — bass
• Harry Jaeger — drums

Tracks 1–3, Side 4 recorded in New York 15 Jan 1941. Personnel (Benny Goodman and His Sextet featuring Count Basie):

• Benny Goodman — clarinet
• Cootie Williams — trumpet
• George Auld — tenor saxophone
• Count Basie — piano
• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Artie Bernstein — bass
• Jo Jones — drums

Track 4, Side 4 recorded in New York, 4 Mar 1941. Personnel (Benny Goodman and His Orchestra):

• Cootie Williams, Alec Fila, Jimmy Maxwell, Irving Goodman — trumpets
• Lou McGarity, Cutty Cutshall — trombones
• Skip Martin, Gus Bivona — alto saxophones
• Benny Goodman — clarinet
• George Auld, Pete Mondello — tenor saxophones
• Bob Snyder — baritone saxophone
• Johnny Guarnieri — piano
• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Artie Bernstein — bass
• Dave Tough — drums

Tracks 5 & 6, Side 4 recorded in New York, 13 Mar 1941 during warm-up sessions while members of the Benny Goodman Sextet waited for their tardy leader. Columbia Records' practice at the time was to record all takes, partial takes, and sometimes warm-ups, onto acetate discs. These two performances were culled from one such disc.^[10] Personnel ("Charlie Christian Jammers"):

• Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
• Cootie Williams — trumpet (Track 6 only)
• George Auld — tenor saxophone
• Johnny Guarnieri — piano
• Artie Bernstein — bass
• Dave Tough — drums

Track 7, Side 4 recorded in New York, 13 Mar 1941. Personnel (Benny Goodman and His Sextet featuring Count Basie):

• Benny Goodman — clarinet
• Cootie Williams — trumpet
• George Auld — tenor saxophone
• Johnny Guarnieri — piano
• Artie Bernstein — bass
• Dave Tough — drums

Technical

• Chris Albertson - compilation producer, liner notes
• Gene Lees - liner notes
• John Hammond - liner notes