Django Reinhardt

Django Reinhardt appears on an AVID Entertainment release for the second time, here featuring his electric guitar period and this time on classic AVID JAZZ label. Focusing on his music after 1947 when he returned from the USA having played with Duke Ellington, we also include a valuable recording made at the RDF radio studios possibly for a film soundtrack and skilfully re-mastered by AVID’s own sound engineers. Django’s music in the 1950’s underwent many changes as witnessed among these tracks. We travel through small group swing to bebop influenced modern harmonic and rhythmically conceptual pieces, urgent, wild and frantic as detected in his amazing guitar playing!

Django Reinhardt would have turned a hundred years old in 2010. His music goes beyond time and the talents of his son (Babik) and grandson (David) follow his steps as a giant of music. This album pays a beautiful tribute to Django with those three amazing composers and guitar players entitled “Nuvens de Saudade” (a title written by Babik Reinhardt in memory of his father). As you listen to Django’s recordings, you are first surprised by his powerful way to play, the energy of his inspiration and the coherence of his work. Django has always taken risks to create new forms and innovate new sounds as he is undoubtably the best guitar player of all times…

A Tribute To Django Reinhadt is a cleverly conceptualized collection to mark the centenary of the legendary gypsy guitarist’s birth. Compiled by Suzie Reinhardt (musician, journalist, granddaughter?), she’s to be commended for taking a less obvious approach than might have been expected. What makes the music of Django Reinhardt so special? Django Reinhardt is worldwide known as one of the best guitar players, because of his virtuosity and spontaneous way of playing – the “biggest improvising guitar player in history”. An exceptional musician, born over 100 years ago, Django Reinhardt learned how to play banjo, violin and guitar (his main instrument) through copying and trying, even though he only had three fingers left on his one hand. No wonder Django Reinhardt still excites fans all over the world and inspires numerous artists of all cultures. This CD collection shows how many very different musicians Django has influenced.

Django Reinhardt - Django In Rome 1949-1950 (2003) {4CD Box Set JSP Records JSP919}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 595 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 648 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 190 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1949-50, 2003 JSP Records | JSP919
Jazz / Swing / Guitar Jazz / Gypsy

The postwar recording sessions included in this budget-priced boxed set are the last ones Django Reinhardt made with violinist Stephane Grappelli. The remaining original members of his acclaimed Quintette du Hot Club de France had departed already, and on the first three of these four discs the guitarist and violinist are accompanied by a trio of Italian musicians: pianist Gianni Safred, bassist Carlo Pecori, and drummer Aurelio de Carolis. (The recordings on the fourth disc, which date from 1950, are credited to the Quintette du Hot Club de France, but by that point Grappelli had been replaced by alto saxophonist and clarinetist Andre Ekyan and the remaining three musicians comprised a standard piano trio – an instrumental configuration far removed from that of the original quintet.)

Arguably the most brilliant jazz guitarist of the 20th century, Belgian gypsy player Django Reinhardt virtually reinvented the form with a unique two-finger style and the application of his own highly individualistic improvisatory method. The documentary release Django Reinhardt: King of Jazz Guitar both explores and pays homage to Reinhardt's life and career, and features selections from Reinhardt interpretations of 21 classics including "Tiger Rag," "I Saw Stars," "Charleston," and "Lisa."