# Air Mail Special guitar solo > Charlie Christian's guitar solo on Air Mail Special by Benny Goodman Sextet (1941). From the album Air Mail Special (single). Played on a Gibson ES-150. Canonical URL: Benny Goodman Sextet, 1941, from *Air Mail Special (single)*. Solo by *Charlie Christian*. A fast riff tune that gave Christian room for the swinging, even-note lines later guitarists studied. Air Mail Special is a fast riff tune that gave Charlie Christian room to show off the swinging, even-note lines that guitarists would study for decades. Playing his Gibson ES-150 with the Benny Goodman Sextet, he rides the tempo effortlessly, stringing together eighth-note phrases that outline the harmony with clarity and bounce. His tone is clean and slightly warm, cutting through the ensemble without strain. The recording helped establish a new role for electric guitar as a lead voice. Listen for how his phrases often begin with a short, catchy motif and then expand into longer runs, a technique that keeps his solo both melodic and driving at a high tempo. Air Mail Special by Benny Goodman Sextet is featured in our Jazz (#25) list. The solo is played by Charlie Christian and the song was released in 1941. ## In our lists - [The 25 Greatest Jazz Guitar Solos](https://greatestsolos.com/list/jazz/) — #25 - [The Best Charlie Christian Guitar Solos](https://greatestsolos.com/list/charlie-christian-guitar-solos/) — #4 - [The Best Guitar Solos of 1941](https://greatestsolos.com/list/best-guitar-solos-1941/) — #3 ## Sources ### Who played the guitar solo on Air Mail Special? Charlie Christian played the solo on Benny Goodman Sextet's Air Mail Special (1941). ### What guitar was used on the Air Mail Special solo? A gibson es-150, according to widely reported accounts. --- GreatestSolos ranks the greatest guitar solos by consensus across published lists. Agent guide: [llms.txt](https://greatestsolos.com/llms.txt) · [Sitemap](https://greatestsolos.com/sitemap.xml) · [Dataset (CSV)](https://greatestsolos.com/data/greatest-guitar-solos.csv) · [How we rank](https://greatestsolos.com/method/)