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Django
ReinhardtDjango
Reinhardt was the first hugely influential jazz figure to emerge from Europe -
and he remains the most influential European to this day, with possible competition
from Joe Zawinul, George Shearing, John McLaughlin, his old cohort Stephane Grappelli
and a bare handful of others. A free-spirited gypsy, Reinhardt wasn't the most
reliable person in the world, frequently wandering off into the countryside on
a whim. Yet Reinhardt came up with a unique way of propelling the humble acoustic
guitar into the front line of a jazz combo in the days before amplification became
widespread. He would spin joyous, arcing, marvelously inflected solos above the
thrumming base of two rhythm guitars and a bass, with Grappelli's elegantly gliding
violin serving as the perfect foil. His harmonic concepts were startling for their
time - making a direct impression upon Charlie Christian and Les Paul, among others
- and he was an energizing rhythm guitarist behind Grappelli, pushing their groups
into a higher gear. Not only did Reinhardt put his stamp upon jazz, his string-band
music also had an impact upon the parallel development of Western swing, which
eventually fed into the wellspring of what is now called country music. Although
he could not read music, with Grappelli and on his own, Reinhardt composed several
winsome, highly original tunes like "Daphne," "Nuages" and
"Manoir de mes reves," as well as mad swingers like "Minor Swing"
and the ode to his record label of the `30s, "Stomping At Decca." As
the late Ralph Gleason said about Django's recordings, "They were European
and they were French and they were still jazz."
A violinist first
and a guitarist later, Jean Baptiste "Django" Reinhardt grew up in a
gypsy camp near Paris where he absorbed the gypsy strain into his music. A disastrous
caravan fire in 1928 badly burned his left hand, depriving him of the use of the
fourth and fifth fingers, but the resourceful Reinhardt figured out a novel fingering
system to get around the problem that probably accounts for some of the originality
of his style. According to one story, during his recovery period, Reinhardt was
introduced to American jazz when he found a 78 RPM disc of Louis Armstrong's "Dallas
Blues" at an Orleans flea market. He then resumed his career playing in Parisian
cafes until one day in 1934 when Hot Club chief Pierre Nourry proposed the idea
of an all-string band to Reinhardt and Grappelli. Thus was born the Quintet of
the Hot Club of France, which quickly became an international draw thanks to a
long, splendid series of Ultraphone, Decca and HMV recordings. The
outbreak of war in 1939 broke up the Quintette, with Grappelli remaining in London
where the group was playing and Reinhardt returning to France. During the war
years, he led a big band, another quintet with clarinetist Hubert Rostaing in
place of Grappelli, and after the liberation of Paris, recorded with such visiting
American jazzmen as Mel Powell, Peanuts Hucko and Ray McKinley. In 1946, Reinhardt
took up the electric guitar and toured America as a soloist with the Duke Ellington
band but his appearances were poorly received. Some of his recordings on electric
guitar late in his life are bop escapades where his playing sounds frantic and
jagged, a world apart from the jubilant swing of old. However, starting in Jan.
1946, Reinhardt and Grappelli held several sporadic reunions where the bop influences
are more subtly integrated into the old, still-fizzing swing format. In the 1950s,
Reinhardt became more reclusive, remaining in Europe, playing and recording now
and then until his death from a stroke in 1953. His Hot Club recordings from the
`30s are his most irresistible legacy; their spirit and sound can be felt in current
groups like Holland's Rosenberg Trio.
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Django
Reinhardt - Complete Studio Recordings [BOX SET]
JSP's follow-up to their
must-have bargain-priced box set of Django Reinhardt's early recordings is every
bit as essential and fascinating for lovers of jazz guitar. Between 1937 and 1948,
the world's best-known gypsy guitarist was leading some of the hottest jazz groups
in Europe, with some of the most innovative arrangements imaginable. The story
behind these sessions is almost as memorable as the material--somehow Reinhardt,
despite being a gypsy, prospered through Nazi-occupied France while his peers
either fled or perished. Due to the war, the classic lineup of the Quintet of
the Hot Club of France evolved and eventually splintered into two groups--one
with Stephane Grappelli on violin, another replacing him with the clarinet of
Hubert Rostaing. But regardless of Reinhardt's accompaniment, the music-making
heard here is nothing short of astounding. Whether swinging through standards
("All of Me," "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," "Sweet
Georgia Brown") or performing some of his classic originals ("Nuages,"
"Swing 42"), whether alone ("Improvisations," "Tea for
Two") or backed by more than a dozen friends ("Festival Swing"),
this is some of Reinhardt's best music. JSP's remastering and transfers on these
60-year-old 78s is the finest yet available. Essential for swing fans, guitarists,
or anyone wanting to know more about the history of jazz. - Jason Verlinde
Order
here from Amazon.com |
"Play
What You Hear" author Chris Standring has a brand new album out on Ultimate
Vibe Recordings entitled "Blue Bolero". "With
his sixth CD, Blue Bolero, Standring returns with a left-turning musical project
so daring in its scope but still so true to his sound that it is destined to be
one of the year's most-discussed projects, while certainly sure to be remembered
in years to come as a highlight of the guitarist's works. He's taking a chance
with Blue Bolero, but it's one his fans will certainly embrace as they follow
Standring's ever-evolving career. - Brian Soergel, Jazz Times Listen
to & purchase Blue Bolero
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