Django Reinhardt
Extremely innovative jazz guitarist
Django Reinhardt was born in Belgium. He was one of the first major jazz artists to emerge in Europe, and arguably the most well known European jazz musician in the world. He was among the first jazz musicians to feature the guitar as a lead instrument.
Following an accident in 1928 in which his left hand was severely burned, he was left with the use of only his first two fingers. As a result, he developed his own left hand technique.
He played completely by ear (he could neither read nor write music), yet he employed an amazing array of techniques: melodies played as octaves, dissonances, very fast chromatic runs, multiple octave arpeggios, and unusual chords.
“By far the most astonishing guitar player ever has got to be Django Reinhardt... His electric playing in the Forties is just humiliating. His lead licks – whew! I slow them down, and I still can’t grasp what he’s doing” – Jeff Beck
This video does a good job of summarizing Reinhardt’s career, (but the narrator uses way too many cliches, and redundant phrases.)
Minor Swing I can’t tell you how many times I have listened to this recording, which Reinhardt wrote. It features Django’s favorite collaborator, violinist Stephane Grappelli. There are two other guitars besides Reinhardt on this recording. Both playing rhythm.
Breakneck tempo. “Ah yeh “ at the end. They had fun recording this song.
Nuages A much more languid tempo. Interesting, unusual intro.
Reinhardt playing live. Note his left hand, and the two rhythm guitarists.
This setup was his most frequent band. Grappellli on violin, base fiddle and 2 guitars playing rhythm. Most other jazz bands featured horns as the lead instruments, and when recording equipment allowed it in the 1940s, drums.
I’ll See You In My Dreams A close examination of the musical structures Reinhardt employs in this jazz standard.