Page 1:   Theme

Page 2:   First CC Solo:  1st Chorus

Page 3:   First CC Solo:  2nd Chorus

Page 4:   First CC Solo:  3rd Chorus

Page 5:   Second CC Solo:  1st Chorus

Page 6:   Second CC Solo:  2nd Chorus

Page 7:   Second CC Solo:  3rd Chorus

Page 8:   Out Chorus

C&A:

This “Stompin’ at the Savoy” was the other tune that Jerry Newman recorded at the same jam session as Charlie Christian’s ne plus ultra, “Topsy.”  Had it not been for the existence of “Topsy” (aka “Swing to Bop”), this may well have turned out to be CC’s most highly regarded recording.

Charles is a master at embellishing the theme—rhythmically and otherwise…harmony, melody, dynamics.  Joe Guy takes the first solo chorus followed by Kenny Kersey for two choruses, then Charles.

First CC Solo

1st Chorus:
CC leads-in his first solo very nicely [love the passage at mm 9-12] and is in full stride by the time he hits the first bridge.
On the bridge E7, he sounds like he’s going to go into the same phrases he used on the bridge Eb7 on his last chorus on “Topsy” but then unexpectedly takes a different direction.
At mm 14-15 and again at 29-30, goes to lower frets instead of staying in the same hand position as would most other guitarists.
Plays his famous flat-3rd / 6th double-stops at mm 27;  then again at mm 32 with a grand flourish not heard on any of his other recordings.

2nd Chorus:
The spacing of the figures on mm 9-14 is reminiscent of the spacing on mm 26-32 on CC’s first “Topsy” chorus.
Good use of silence before hitting the bridge on the first beat;  also good pacing (holding the B-natural) at the start of the bridge B7.
Note the sharp-5th (F) at the bridge A7.
Bars 30-31 finds the drop to the lower frets once more.

3rd Chorus:
Flat-3rd / 6th double-stops again at mm 5 and a series of Bbs on alternating strings from mm 8 thru 11.
Then there’s that clever open low-E string on the bridge E7 that startles the listener upon first hearing.  Since the more recent releases of other live versions, we now know it was a favorite device of Charles on “Stompin’…”—he lets it ring out for a measure or more while he solos over it.
Alternating strings again on mm 26-28—this time it’s sweeping Dbs.

Then it’s Joe Guy again, for three choruses, between Charles’ two solos.

Second CC Solo

1st Chorus:
Ostensibly, CC opens his second solo by playing eight bars of laid-back riffs—but  they’re not nearly as simple as they may seem on first hearing.  You’ll need more than a few practice runs before you can get them just right.
The two flat-5ths (Fb) at mm 11 signal the end of the laid-back-ness.  On the next measure he starts a bridge-like run that serves as a warm-up before laying into the bridge itself.
Another “sound of surprise” at mm 23:  an arpeggio played a half-step higher than what the harmony calls for before briefly resolving with the 9th of the A7; then he goes on down another half-step to the Ab7.

2nd Chorus:
The first four bars consist of the drawn-out 9-6-3-6 most commonly found on the guitar intro to “AC-DC Current.”  This one has a flat-nine in the third measure.
A lilting, melodic bridge.
Sweeping Dbs again at mm 27-30, an octave higher than on the 3rd chorus of the first solo.

3rd Chorus:
On mm 9-11, the rhythmic emphasis of the repeated figures alternately switches from the downbeat to the upbeat five times, with alternately inserted sharp-5ths & 6ths, before CC tops out the phrase.
The solo changes on the bridge follow the contours of the actual melody / harmony of “Stompin’….”

Joe Guy takes the final chorus with chordal urging from Charles most of the way.

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