Stephane Grappeli

The notion of interpretation constantly raises the question of how to read a score, and therefore of the very subject matter of the score. Particularly in the Baroque period, and especially in the seventeenth-century, the score is but an infrastructure that the composer leaves behind to allow his work to be brought to life. One should not be led astray by it as you might by a trompel'œil; it lacks a great deal of information: nuances, instrumentation, ornaments, playing styles, etc. The majority of these composers thus leave the performers a great deal of latitude for the completion of their scores in order to bring them to back to life.

At the age of 85 Stephane Grappelli was still a master of the violin, as proven during this 1993 concert at Carnegie Hall in honor of his landmark birthday (which he had celebrated the previous January 26th). With bassist Jon Burr and guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, Grappelli revisits a number of old favorites, including a lively take of "All God's Chillun Got Rhythm," an easygoing "Honeysuckle Rose," and a gently swinging "Limehouse Blues." There are no surprises, just great music from the master. Several tracks feature the Rosenberg Trio (in their American recording debut), a fine Gypsy trio (2 guitars and a bass) that Grappelli first heard at the 1991 Montreal Jazz Festival and invited to join him on stage. All six men take part in the enjoyable finale of "Sweet Georgia Brown."

Vol. 1. One of the nice things about jazz is the cross-pollination of different players in multiple settings. No one would've thought of pairing swing violinist Stéphane Grappelli and bop pianist Oscar Peterson, for instance, but the match works very well. The pair have expanded into a quartet on this reissue with the aid of double bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and drummer Kenny Clarke. The set, recorded in 1973 in Paris, includes a handful of standards, from Pinkard/Tracey/Tauber's "Them There Eyes" to Rodgers & Hart's "Thou Swell." As one might guess, Grappelli is in his own element on upbeat, swinging pieces like "Makin' Whoopee" and "Walkin' My Baby Back Home." Peterson likewise joins in the spirit of these pieces, making them the most interesting interpretations on the album. Other material, like the lingering "Flamingo" and "My One and Only Love," are also enjoyable, but seem rather tepid in comparison…

Reinvented for cello and piano by two artists whose reputation is unequivocal, these Images oubliées paint a timeless portrait of a musical legend.

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.

Vol. 1. One of the nice things about jazz is the cross-pollination of different players in multiple settings. No one would've thought of pairing swing violinist Stéphane Grappelli and bop pianist Oscar Peterson, for instance, but the match works very well. The pair have expanded into a quartet on this reissue with the aid of double bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and drummer Kenny Clarke. The set, recorded in 1973 in Paris, includes a handful of standards, from Pinkard/Tracey/Tauber's "Them There Eyes" to Rodgers & Hart's "Thou Swell." As one might guess, Grappelli is in his own element on upbeat, swinging pieces like "Makin' Whoopee" and "Walkin' My Baby Back Home." Peterson likewise joins in the spirit of these pieces, making them the most interesting interpretations on the album. Other material, like the lingering "Flamingo" and "My One and Only Love," are also enjoyable, but seem rather tepid in comparison…

Yehudi Menuhin was a dazzling virtuoso from childhood who became a key humanitarian in addition to being a celebrated concert artist.
The legendary violinist Yehudi Menuhin was the eldest child of Russian-born Hebrew scholars who met in Palestine, emigrated to New York City, and moved to San Francisco soon after their son's birth. After just three years of violin study, Yehudi made a legendary debut at age seven with the local symphony. His Carnegie Hall debut three years later, in the Beethoven Violin Concerto, garnered praise that likened him to Mozart as a prodigy, whereupon the family (which now included sisters Hephzibah and Yaltah) lived gypsy-like in hotels wherever Yehudi was engaged at enormous fees…

Stephane Grappelli Live at the Blue Note with Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli and Jon Burr. Stephane Grappelli was one of the masters of the jazz violin. In this wonderful Telarc recording one can witness the master's playfulness, charm and talent as he plays before an appreciative and polite audience.

"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…