The Complete Django Reinhardt HMV Sessions

With this rich collection of sides by Django Reinhardt from the vaults of HMV and Swing, you can instantly transport yourself to a small French café in the mid '30s, very near the beginning of his recording career, where dedicated fans discovered what made this extraordinary musician - the first real European jazz star -- a raging sensation on both sides of the Atlantic.

Musically, he was gifted in a way that seldom has been seen before or since these classic recordings were made. His ability to riff with abandon, without compromising expressiveness, was what appealed to audiences at the time, and he could count among his admirers Duke Ellington, Benny Carter, Coleman Hawkins and Eddie South.

His group, co-led by violinist Stephane Grappelli, was the celebrated Quintette du Hot Club de France, named for and initially sponsored by the society of French record collectors who made Hot Music a passionate and scholarly pursuit. This ensemble, as well as Reinhardt's own playing, exhibited a keen sense of swing while blending the sound of a small Parisian café band.

But this was Hot Music that later incorporated some extremely modern elements. Django, on first hearing Charlie Parker on record, is said to have dropped his head into his hands and moaned out of admiration and humility. He immediately began incorporating bop idioms and harmonies into his music. In turn, many bop musicians credit Django as an important influence.

The recordings -- 118 in all - span Django's most productive years (and Europe's most painful and chaotic), from 1936 to 1948, and feature him performing solo guitar and in duet with Grappelli as well as with the quintet.

The quintet, which included Joseph Reinhardt, Roger Chaput and later Pierre Ferret on guitar and Louis Vola on bass, became internationally known for these exact recordings now available from Mosaic. They reveal Django's power, his melodic abilities, and his skill at achieving, simultaneously, technical precision and deeply meaningful tonal nuances.

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• Django Reinhardt
• Jazz Guitar
• Mosaic Records
• Django
• Jazz
• Guitar
• Hot Club of France
• France
• HMV