Minor Swing
Django Reinhardt, 1937. Solo by Django Reinhardt.
Minor Swing is gypsy jazz in its purest form, a simple minor-key tune that Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli use as a launch pad. Django's solo mixes rapid arpeggios, chromatic runs and sudden tremolo-picked flourishes, all played with the fretting hand he had adapted after a fire badly damaged two of his fingers. Behind him, the rhythm guitars keep up the pulsing la pompe strum that defines the style. The Selmer-Maccaferri guitar gives his lines a bright, cutting, almost brassy quality. Generations of acoustic players have learned this tune as their entry into the genre. Listen for how Django builds momentum by moving from single-note runs to fiercely strummed chords as his chorus peaks.
Minor Swing by Django Reinhardt is ranked #214 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Django Reinhardt and the song was released in 1937. It appears on 2 lists, placing as high as #15 (Guitar Tricks).
In our lists
Sources
- Guitar Tricks: 200 Best Guitar Solos of All Time — #15
- Jazzfuel: 10 Iconic Jazz Guitar Solos Everyone Should Know
- Guitarhabits: 50 of The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
Who played the guitar solo on Minor Swing?
Django Reinhardt played the solo on Django Reinhardt's Minor Swing (1937).
What guitar was used on the Minor Swing solo?
A selmer-maccaferri, according to widely reported accounts.
Where does Minor Swing rank among the greatest guitar solos?
#214 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 79 published lists; it appears on 2 of them.