Stephane Grappelli

Stephane Grappelli - Live 1992 (2002) {Dreyfus Jazz FDM 37006-2}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 251 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 127 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 41 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1992, 2002 Birdology / Dreyfus Jazz | FDM 37006-2
Jazz / Continental Jazz / Violin

Stéphane Grappelli was still golden in his later years, and the proof is contained on this delightful concert performance, documented in the spring of 1992 at La Salle De Spectacles in Colombes, France. Teamed with twin electric or acoustic guitarists Marc Fosset and Philip Catherine alongside the virtuoso bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Grappelli has a group that can easily inspire him to play his best.

"The man who was Django’s prestigious partner in the first, immortal Quintette du H.C.F. has made an appearance (on wax) for Barclay with a series of recordings in which you can rediscover his pretty sound and abundant, easy ideas; in a word, his style which, though with less of a bite than before, has lost none of its grace." Those were the first lines of the review that a certain Michel Delaroche (in fact Boris Vian) wrote for the November 1955 issue of Jazz Hot; the subject was this album, the first that Stéphane Grappelli ("Grappelly" at the time) had made on violin under his own name since he'd left England.
The violinist had celebrated his definitive return to France at the Club Saint-Germain on the night of April 25th 1954; he would appear there on and off for the next seven years…

Stephane Grappelli and guitarist Diz Disley lead this elegant Hot Club session from 1975. Nice variety of compositions without ever leaving the style.
For twenty years Stephane Grappelli resisted repeated attempts to reconstitute the old Quintette - resisted because there was only one Django, could never be another, and the Quintette without Django would be at least as unthinkable as the Venuti Blue Four without Eddie Lang. Finally it was the persistence and perception of a Canadian-born graphic artist and acoustic guitarist Diz Disley, that persuaded Stephane to revive the two guitars/string bass rhythm section. Since then, Stephane Grappelli and the Diz Disley Trio have been playing mostly to packed houses in Britain, Europe, America and Australia and building a huge following for their special sound.

Stephane Grappelli recorded frequently during the last three decades of his life and previously unissued recordings like this 1975 concert at Corby Festival Hall have continued to turn up. On this occasion the violinist is accompanied by lead guitarist Diz Disley, rhythm guitarist Ike Isaacs and bassist David Moses. The set is fairly typical, concentrating on standards from the 1920s through the 1940s, starting with a chugging but brisk take of "I Can't Believe That You're in Love With Me." The marvelous duet by Grappelli and Disley of "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," Grappelli's inventive treatment of "(Back Home Again In) Indiana" and the crowd-pleasing "Sweet Georgia Brown" are among the highlights. It is simply amazing that Stephane Grappelli never seemed to go on autopilot as he played a song for the hundredth (or possibly thousandth) time; this CD is a valuable addition to his already vast discography.

In October, 1991 four nights of jazz concerts were held in Warsaw, Poland as part of a 30-year-old tradition, Jazz Jamboree. The venue selected was the Operetka House, essentially an old wood structure in downtown Warsaw. The sound, however, was resinate in the ornate hall and many of the jazz artists that performed over the four-day period commented on the incredible acoustics…

After his phenomenal success with Django Reinhardt in the pre-war Quintet of the Hot Club of France, violinist Stéphane Grappelli's recording career was a bit erratic until interest revived in his music in the late 1960s. So these 1962 studio sessions, initially released by Atlantic as Feeling + Finesse = Jazz are a rare opportunity to hear the master during this period in his career. Accompanied by guitarist Pierre Cavalli, rhythm guitarist Leo Petit, bassist Guy Pedersen and drummer Daniel Humair, Grappelli draws primarily from his repertoire of standards and originals previously recorded with Reinhardt.

Oscar Peterson + Stephane Grappelli - Skol (1979) {OJC Remasters Complete Series rel 2013, item 31of33}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 392 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 143 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 174 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1979, 2013 Pablo / Concord | 40th Anniversary of Pablo Records | 0888072346178
Jazz / Bop / Mainstream Jazz

Concord Music Group will release five new titles in its Original Jazz Classics Remasters series on September 17, 2013. Enhanced by 24-bit remastering by Joe Tarantino, bonus tracks (some previously unreleased), and new liner notes to provide historical context to the originally released material, the series celebrates the 40th anniversary of Pablo Records, the prolific Beverly Hills-based label that showcased some of the most influential jazz artists and recordings of the 1970s and '80s.