DJANGO REINHARDT - godfather of gypsy jazz

DJANGO REINHARDT (1910 - 1953)

He has been called the godfather of gypsy jazz. He was one of the greatest guitar players ever. And all of that with only eight fingers left to use and unable to read notes.

Despite the fact that Europeans responded to jazz with great enthusiasm when given the opportunity (Sidney Bechet performed in London as early as 1919) Europe has produced very few really great jazz musicians in the first five decades of the style. With one notable exception - Django Reinhardt. Reinhardt was born on 23 January 1910 near the village of Charleroi in Belgium, named Jean Baptiste. He was born into a gypsy family, and followed the traditional Gypsy lifestyle, travelling throughout Belgium, France and North Africa as a youngster. His parents were entertainers; his father was a circus clown who also played violin and guitar. His mother was a dancer and acrobat.

Django quickly mastered the violin, a traditional Gypsy instrument and he also rapidly mastered the banjo-guitar that he was given when he was twelve years old. By this time the family had settled on the outskirts of Paris, having spent the years of the Great War in Italy, and soon he was performing professionally in the nightclubs of the French capital. He made his first recording at only fourteen years old, providing banjo accompaniment to the singer Chabel.

He made further recordings in 1928, but these again were the traditional French romantic style. However, American jazz was beginning to be heard in the capital cities of Europe, and Django soon began incorporating some of these numbers into his live performances. But, before he could make his name as a jazz musician, Django had to overcome a major setback, one that would have beaten a less determined individual.

On 2 November 1928 Django's family caravan caught fire, the blaze being made more intense by the caravan's contents being highly flammabble. These were artificial flowers made of celluloid, flowers intended for sale the following day. Trying to extinguish the fire, Django was badly burned. Only after a two year period of recuperation was he able to walk without the aid of crutches, and the use of two of his fingers was permanently lost. Determined to pursue a career as a musician Django re-learned to play the guitar. He invented a playing technique where melody playing rested heavily on pointer and middle finger, and for chords he leaned heavily on using his thumb. He also perfected tremolo picking and the usage of picks - his reward was to become known as Europe's most important jazz guitarist.

As he picked up the threads of his career, Django increasingly began playing American jazz, often accompanied by his brother Joseph, also a guitar player. During the 1930's, the pair met bass player Louis Vola, guitarist Roger Chaput and violinist Stephane Grappelli; these musicians were the basis of the renowned "Quintet of the Hot Club France". By the end of the decade the combined sound of the guitar of Django Reinhardt and the violin of Stephane Grappelli almost defined jazz across Europe. When World War II began the members of the quintet were the jazz stars of France, Spain, Holland, Belgium, England and Scandinavia.

The "Quintet of the Hot Club France" was touring England when the war broke out, and Django immediately decided to return to France. Grappelli chose to remain in England. Django went to South France, believing the French army would defeat the invading German forces. This did not happen, but after the armistice was signed in June 1940 Django returned to Paris. In 1943 he tried to escape to Switzerland but was refused in. It was his fame and good name that spared him the fate of many of his fellow Gypsy (being arrested and sent to concentration camps). The reports on his life in occupied Paris differ. While some say that despite the occupation and the conditions under which he had to work , Django was such a success that he was able to live in a luxury flat on the Champs Elysées, others report that he lived rather secluded and reclusive.

After the war, Django was re-united with Grappelli and they recorded together in London. The Swing Era was coming to an end however. Django took up the electric guitar and toured America with Duke Ellington, but did not repeat his earlier European successes. Maybe because he was too little determined for the Duke. He became increasingly reclusive, took up painting and spent most of the rest of his time fishing and playing billiard. Django Reinhardt, Europe's most influential jazz guitarist died on 16 May 1953.

More info: Google