"[2] Christian's mother, a church pianist, helped him with music.
[3] His father "also sang and played the blues on piano in speakeasies and rent parties, but ultimately stopped performing and followed his wife into the church".
[5] Christian was one of the founders of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) with pianist Muhal Richard Abrams, drummer Steve McCall, and composer Phil Cohran.
[1] Christian worked at the Jazz Showcase club in Chicago and performed with Eddie Harris, Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, Gene Ammons, Roscoe Mitchell, Buddy Montgomery, Judy Roberts, and John Klemmer.
[1] [7] With Gene Ammons With Von Freeman With Brad Goode With Lin Halliday With Eddie Harris With John Klemmer With Roscoe Mitchell With Ira Sullivan With others