Stephane Grappeli

Stephane Wrembel - Barbes Brooklyn (2006) {Water Is Life Records WIL 02}
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© 2006 Stephane Wrembel / Water Is Life Records | WIL 02
Jazz / Gypsy Jazz / World Fusion / New Acoustic / Guitar

French acoustic gypsy music inspired by the greatest guitarist of all times: Django Reinhardt. We also blend many world music sounds into it. "Do not miss an opportunity to see one the greatest guitar players I’ve ever seen …and I don’t say that lightly." -Josh Baron, Relix Magazine. "a John Coltrane-ish search for a moment of musical nirvana…" -Phil Gallo, Variety.

Stephane Grappelli - Pent Up House (1962) {Barclay–Drive Archive DE2-41008 rel 1998}
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© 1962, 1998 Barclay / Drive Archive | DE2-41008
Jazz / Bop / Continental Jazz / Violin

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. Cavalli is a competent guitarist but hardly the imaginative improviser that could inspire Grappelli to the heights of which he was capable.

Stephane Grappelli - Live 1992 (2002) {Dreyfus Jazz FDM 37006-2}
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© 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.

Oscar Peterson + Stephane Grappelli - Skol (1979) {OJC Remasters Complete Series rel 2013, item 31of33}
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© 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.

Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher is one of the most inventive oratorios ever composed, constantly flitting between styles and colours. It follows the historic French heroine in the hours leading up to her execution. Indeed, the run-up to her death sentence is reconstructed as if in a crime novel. Paul Claudel's lively libretto contrasts Jeanne with an assorted lot of strange and wonderful characters. More than enough reason for Honegger to open up a colourful paintbox: the work features a succession of choral passages infused with spirituality, cubist-like blocks of sound and even bits of material reminiscent of the music hall. This is grist to conductor Stéphane Denève's mill, who is a leading authority on French music and a regular guest with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; together with two choirs and a variety of soloists and actors, he realized a compelling and moving Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher.

“The mystery of the ballad comes from the way it is told” - Goethe. This fascinating repertory requires the performer to play each of the characters as he or she would in an opera. Who better than Stéphane Degout to take up the challenge of plunging into the heart of German Romanticism? Fresh from winning a Victoire de la Musique in 2019, the French baritone truly embodies each of the protagonists in these shattering miniature dramas. Beside him here are a longstanding partner and two exceptional guests.

Stephane Grappelli - I Hear Music (1970) {2000 RCA Victor 74321796242}
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© 1970, 2000 RCA Victor / BMG | 74321796242
Jazz / Continental Jazz / Violin / Piano

Derived from the "RCA Victor" period of the violinist, this collection dates from 1970 and presents the sympathetic quartet of Grappelli, made up of collaborators entirely dedicated to the art of the violinist. Marc Hammeler (piano) is inventive, Jack Sewing (double bass) has a warm sound, and Kenny Clarke, on drums, unveils a talent already known. He even joins a piano to accompany Grappelli on a very beautiful "Body and Soul".