Jazz great Charlie Christian--name and address of high school? Years attended?

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Request for Question Clarification by markj-ga on 29 Nov 2002 16:56 PST

monreale --

I have found the name and the current address of the high school from
which Charlie Christian graduated.  However, I expect that the high
school will have to be contacted in order to find out whether the
years of his attendance there are determinable. If you will be
completely satisfied with the name, address and contact information
for the school, I will post it as an answer.  If you would prefer, I
will e-mail the school district on Monday, and post an answer if and
when I get the additional information.

If other researchers can determine the dates of attendance in the
meantime, they should feel free to post a complete answer.

markj-ga

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Clarification of Question by monreale-ga on 30 Nov 2002 10:23 PST

I'll be satsfied with name and address of high school, any other high
school contact info, i. e., phone no., email, and year Christian
graduated.

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Request for Question Clarification by markj-ga on 30 Nov 2002 12:16 PST

monreale --

Thanks.  I have made an e-mail request for the school informations.  I
am hopeful that I will get at least the graduation year one way or
another by early next week.  Christian apparently played bass with
some regional bands in Oklahoma after high school before he joined up
with Benny Goodman in 1939 for the three years until his untimely
death.  But information on that pre-Goodman period is hard to come by.

markj-ga

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Clarification of Question by monreale-ga on 06 Dec 2002 18:09 PST

Sounds good.

monreale --

I am posting the information I have as a comment, not an answer,
because my sources conflict on whether Christian ever graduated from
high school.  I have e-mailed the school district office for
authoritative information, but have not received a response.

(I have looked at some of your other questions as well, and I have
found that, while it is practical to find out whether even relatively
obscure early jazz musicians attended high school, the sources often
conflict on the details of attendance and graduation.)

What is certain is that Charlie Christian (1916-1942) attended
Douglass High School in Oklahoma City.  The contact information for
his high school and school district can be found here:
Oklahoma City High Schools
http://www.okcps.org/high_schools.htm

As a history of the school's "Bricktown" neighborhood states:

"Founded in 1891, the all-black school moved to a two-story frame
building in the 400 block of East California in 1899, followed by a
move into the old Webster School in 1903. From this new home at the
northwest corner of California and Walnut (where the baseball park is
located today), Douglass High School became one of the leading
educational institutions in the region."
Bricktown History
http://www.bricktownokc.com/history.shtml

According to two Oklahoma sources, Christian graduated from Douglass
High:

"By the time Charlie graduated from Douglass high school, he had
already developed his signature style… ."
Olkahoma Jazz/Christian
http://www.oklahomajazz.com/christian.htm 

"After graduating from Douglas High School, he toured as a bass player
with several territorial bands."
2002 Sixth Annual Oklahoma Music Hall Of Fame Inductees
http://www.oklahomamusichalloffame.com/events.html

However, another source specifically states that Christian "left" high
school in 1931, when he was no more than 15:

"Two years after [1929] Charlie left school and began working with
bands." "Masters of Jazz Guitar," by Dave Gelly, with Charles
Alexander, ed., page 34 (Balafar, 1999)

If I do get definitive information on Christian's graduation, I will
recast this as an answer.

markj-ga