Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Today is March 22. The father of modern jazz guitar was born this day in 1919 in Dallas, Texas. Charlie Christian's recording career lasted only three years, but what an impact he had on later generations. His harnessing of the newly electrified guitar and his extension of single-note solos helped speed the transition from swing to bebop for guitar players in the 1940s and '50s. Advertisement Another great guitarist, whose career took off more because of his singing than his extraordinary fretwork, was born this day in 1943. George Benson was born in Pittsburgh. Benson's recording 1976 "Breezin'" was the first jazz album to sell more than one million copies. Big band arranger and bandleader Sonny Burke was born this day in 1914 in Scranton, Pa. His admiration for Jimmy Lunceford and Count Basie led to his 1940 arrangement of "Jimmy Meets the Count" for the Okeh label. Advertisement Looking at today's hip happenings... On the New York jazz scene, singer Carol Sloane is at the Village Vanguard with pianist Norman Simmons, bassist Paul West, drummer Winard Harper and guitarist Paul Bollenback. Pianist McCoy Tyner's trio is joined by special guest Bobby Hutcherson at Iridium. Singer Kurt Elling's quartet is at Birdland for two more nights. Tenor saxophonist Gato Barbieri's band is at the Blue Note this week. Ben Allison and Medicine Wheel are in the spotlight tonight as The Jazz Standard continues its Jazz Composers Collective jazz festival this week. The Julius Hemphill sextet is at Location One tonight. Shedrick Mitchell and Jim Pryor are featured in the Jazz Gallery's dual piano series. Junior Mance is the featured pianist this week at the Knickerbocker. David Gilmore and Organizmic are at Tonic tonight. Drummer Cecil Brooks III's CB3 band is at the Up Over Jazz Café in Brooklyn tonight and Saturday. Whitney Marchelle is at the Lenox Lounge in Harlem. Arturo O'Farrill's Latin jazz quintet performs at Public School 243 in Bedford-Stuyvesant for the Change 4 Kids Program today in the final day of Jazz at Lincoln Center's 7th annual Jazz in the Schools series. Moving to upstate New York, guitarist John Abecrombie's quartet is at the Van Dyck in Schenectady: Hammond B-3 player Ron Levy's Wild Kingdom band is at Dewzies in Utica. Advertisement Cellist Akua Dixon's band is at Trumpets in Montclair, N.J., tonight and Saturday. The 2002 edition of the Jazz at the Point festival is scheduled tonight and Saturday in Somers Point, N.J. The lineup includes Tony Do Rosario and his Six String Friends, with Jimmy Bruno, Peter Bernstein and Dennis DiBlasio. In and around Boston, the Sergio Brandao sextet is at the Regattabar in Cambridge tonight. Maureen McGovern is at Scullers jazz club. Singer Allan Harris is at Zanzibar Blue in Philadelphia tonight and Saturday. The John Swana-Chris Farr quintet is at Chris's Jazz Café in Philadelphia. Pianist Jean-Michel Pilc's trio is at Café Aaron in Easton, Pa., tonight and Saturday. Tenor saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman is at the Bird of Paradise in Ann Arbor, Mich., tonight and Saturday. On the Chicago jazz scene, Cyrus Chestnut is at the Jazz Showcase for three more nights. The Chris Lega-Pat Mallinger quintet is at Andy's tonight. Bobby Lewis's quartet is at the Backroom. Skinny Williams is at Joe's BeBop Café and Jazz Emporium on the Navy Pier. The King Fleming trio is at Philander's in Oak Park. Donny Nichilo is at Pops for Champagne. Advertisement In New Orleans tonight, Willie Metcalf and the Samirah Evans trio is at the Bombay Club. Charmaine Neville and Amasa Miller are at Cobalt. The Treme Brass Band is at Donna's. Have Soul Will Travel is at the Dragon's Den. Jeremy Davenport is in the spotlight at the Ritz Carlton's French Quarter Bar. Devin Phillips and Delfeayo Marsalis bring their bands into the Funky Butt. Louis Ford and Topsy Chapman preside over the music at Satchmo's jazz room in Harrah's Casino. Joe Krown's Organ Combo is at Le Bon Temps Roule. Thais Clark joins Ernie Elly and the Slickshots at the Palm Court. Leroy Jones leads the band at Preservation Hall. Kermit Ruffins and his Barbecue Swingers are at the Red Room. Alto saxophonist Frank Morgan is at Snug Harbor tonight and Saturday. Wanda Rouzan and A Taste of New Orleans are at the Storyville District Jazz Parlor tonight. Betsy Braud and the Jazz Nurse Prescription are at the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park this afternoon. On the California jazz scene, Toots Thielemans and Kenny Werner are at the Catalina Bar and Grill in North Hollywood. Guitarist Stanley Jordan is at the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles. Singer Tierney Sutton is at Steamer's Jazz Café in Fullerton tonight. Advertisement John Scofield's band is at Yoshi's in Oakland. The Pat Metheny Group is at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland tonight. The Kaila Flexer Fieldharmonik is at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz. Elena Maya's jazz and blues band is at Main Street Station in Guerneville. Shanna Carlson is at Spiedo Ristorante in San Jose. Drummer Scott Amendola and Crater are at Jupiter in Berkeley tonight. The Rolando Morales trio is at Jack's Bistro in Oakland. In San Francisco, the Maria Schneider Orchestra performs at the Herbst Theatre tonight as part of the SFJazz Women in Jazz series. Paul Robinson and his 50th Birthday Jazz Ensemble are at Enrico's tonight.Paula West is at The Plush Room. The Mark Wright sextet is at Jazz at Pearl's. The Post Junk trio is at the Blue Bar. The George Khouri trio is at the Bix Restaurant and Supper Club. Brian Melvin's trio is at Rubicon this afternoon. Don Byron's sextet and the Cuban alternative jazz septet perform tonight open the weeklong spring jazz series at the Theatres de Nimes in France.
