DjangoReinhardt

Django Reinhardt

Two working fingers, one fearless imagination, and European jazz was born

Jean Reinhardt, known as Django, was born in 1910 in Liberchies, Belgium, into a family of Manouche Romani travelers, and spent most of his youth in caravan encampments on the outskirts of Paris. He first played the violin and then the banjo-guitar, and by his teens he was working in the dance halls of Paris, where he made his first recordings in 1928 as an accompanist. He received little formal schooling and never learned to read music, learning entirely by ear.

In November 1928 a candle ignited celluloid flowers in his caravan, and the fire left him badly burned over much of his body. The fourth and fifth fingers of his left hand were severely damaged, and doctors doubted he would ever play again. During a long recovery, working on a guitar given to him by his brother Joseph, he rebuilt his technique around his index and middle fingers, using the injured fingers only for limited chord work.

Discovering American jazz through records by Louis Armstrong and others, he met violinist Stéphane Grappelli, and in 1934 they launched the Quintette du Hot Club de France, an all-string band with two rhythm guitars and bass. Recordings such as Dinah, Djangology and Minor Swing made them internationally famous, and he recorded with visiting Americans including Coleman Hawkins and Benny Carter. When war broke out in 1939, Grappelli stayed in London, and Django returned to France, where his 1940 recording Nuages became a wartime sensation.

In 1946 he toured the United States as a guest soloist with Duke Ellington, including dates at Carnegie Hall, though he felt underused by the arrangements. Back in Europe he absorbed bebop, recorded in Rome in 1949 and increasingly played an amplified guitar. In his final years he settled in Samois-sur-Seine, fishing and painting as well as recording. He died of a brain hemorrhage in May 1953 at age 43, having left behind hundreds of recordings and a style that still defines gypsy jazz.

The 10 greatest Django Reinhardt solos

1. 1
   Minor Swing

   Quintette du Hot Club de France · solo by Django Reinhardt · 1937
2. 2
   Nuages

   Quintette du Hot Club de France · solo by Django Reinhardt · 1940
3. 3
   Djangology

   Quintette du Hot Club de France · solo by Django Reinhardt · 1935
4. 4
   Dinah

   Quintette du Hot Club de France · solo by Django Reinhardt · 1934
5. 5
   Honeysuckle Rose

   Coleman Hawkins and His All-Star Jam Band · solo by Django Reinhardt · 1937
6. 6
   Swing 42

   Django Reinhardt · solo by Django Reinhardt · 1941
7. 7
   Tiger Rag

   Quintette du Hot Club de France · solo by Django Reinhardt · 1934
8. 8
   Daphne

   Quintette du Hot Club de France · solo by Django Reinhardt · 1937
9. 9
   Belleville

   Django Reinhardt · solo by Django Reinhardt · 1942
10. 10
    Limehouse Blues

    Quintette du Hot Club de France · solo by Django Reinhardt · 1935

The sound

Django's left-hand injury shaped his vocabulary. Playing melodies largely with two fingers, he favored fast horizontal runs along single strings, wide arpeggios, and chromatic slides, and he used the damaged fingers to grab compact chord shapes on the top strings. His right hand drove a powerful rest-stroke attack that projected loudly on Selmer-style guitars, and his solos mix rapid-fire triplets, octave passages and trills with dramatic tremolo. The overall effect is theatrical and swinging, full of surprises, bravura endings and a singing, vocal tone.

• Banjo-guitar (guitar) His main instrument in the Paris dance halls and on his first 1928 recordings.
• Steel-string acoustic from brother Joseph (guitar) Given to him after the 1928 fire and used as he relearned to play.
• Selmer Modèle Jazz (guitar) The oval-hole Selmer that became his primary acoustic from the mid-1930s and the template for gypsy jazz guitars.
• Selmer fitted with an electric pickup (guitar) His amplified setup in his final years, when he played in a bebop-influenced style.
• Small tube amplifier (amp) Used with his amplified Selmer in his last recordings and club dates of the early 1950s.

Covers

• Dinah, originally by Harry Akst, Sam Lewis and Joe Young (songwriters) A popular American song reimagined for strings, with his guitar taking the lead.
• Tiger Rag, originally by Original Dixieland Jass Band He traded the New Orleans brass drive for dazzling string fireworks.
• Honeysuckle Rose, originally by Fats Waller Holding down the guitar chair for American stars, he proved a European could swing with them.
• Limehouse Blues, originally by Philip Braham and Douglas Furber (songwriters) The tune's exotic flavor suited his taste for dramatic minor-key lines.
• Oh, Lady Be Good, originally by George and Ira Gershwin (songwriters) A Gershwin standard turned into a light, fast conversation between guitar and violin.

Timeline

• 1910 Born in Liberchies, Belgium, into a Manouche Romani family
• 1928 Makes first recordings; badly burned in a caravan fire in November
• 1934 Forms the Quintette du Hot Club de France with Stéphane Grappelli
• 1937 Records with Coleman Hawkins and Benny Carter; cuts Minor Swing
• 1939 War splits the Quintette; Grappelli remains in London
• 1940 Records Nuages, which becomes a wartime hit
• 1946 Tours the United States with Duke Ellington
• 1949 Records in Rome with Italian musicians and a reunited Grappelli
• 1951 Settles in Samois-sur-Seine and embraces the electric guitar
• 1953 Dies of a brain hemorrhage at Fontainebleau, aged 43

Facts

1. He could not read music and learned everything by ear.
2. After the 1928 fire he played most of his solos using only two fingers of his left hand.
3. The Quintette du Hot Club de France was one of the first jazz groups built entirely from string instruments.
4. He recorded more than 900 sides during his career.
5. His recording of Nuages is reported to have sold over 100,000 copies.
6. The Python web framework Django is named after him.
7. WordPress version 3.1 was named in his honor.
8. Les Paul, a devoted admirer, helped pay for his funeral.
9. Both Tony Iommi and Jerry Garcia, who lost fingertips in accidents, drew inspiration from his example.
10. A festival celebrating his music has been held in Samois-sur-Seine since 1983.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Django Reinhardt