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Django Reinhardt

The man who became the 1st European jazz giant was born Jean Baptiste Reinhardt on January 24 1910 in a Gypsy encampment at Liberchies Belgium. His father was a traveling entertainer so he lived with his mother and her tribe. His early childhood was spent in and around Liberchies. At age 8 he moved with his mother and her clan to France and settled in a camp outside the gates of old Paris. He first started playing music on an old banjo/guitar at age 12 and soon started playing in cafes and dance halls in Paris accompanying and accordionist. He made his first recordings under the name of Jiango Reinhardt when he was in his late teens.

On November 2nd, 1928 a fire destroyed the caravan that Django Reinhardt shared with his wife together with all their belongings and severely burnt his left hand and his right leg. Despite initial hesitation to seek medical attention on his part and talk of amputating the leg by the first physician he saw, proper care received in a nursing home helped save his leg but permanently scarred his left hand.

During the 18 months spent convalescing he created a new technique in playing the guitar that made up for the extremely limited use he had of his 4th and 5th fingers. In 1934 Django and other musicians including Stéphane Grappelli, whom Django had met during an intermission when both were playing at a local hotel, Louis Vola, Roger Chaput and Django's brother Joseph formed the Quintette du Hot Club de France. They recorded their first jazz sides under that name and these early 78s propelled them into stardom. They created the concept of lead guitar backed by a rhythm guitar and they also used their string instruments to create percussion like sounds since they lacked any percussionists or drummers in their group. After this initial success they continued to record and tour Europe. They started recording material composed by Django himself and American standards. Django did not know how to read and write music and only later in life taught himself how to read and write French. They also played and recorded with expatriate and visiting American musicians such as Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter, Rex Stewart and Louis Armstrong.

When World War II broke the Quintet was touring England. Django and other returned to Paris but Grappelli stayed in England thus ending the first incarnation of the Quintette du Hot Club de France. Clarinetist Hubert Rostaing was hired to replace Grappelli. Django somehow survived the dark years of Nazi rule when many of his people perished in concentration camps. Jazz was banned under Hitler.

Afterword: Final Thoughts & Questions

by Alan Bryson
July 9, 2025

Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 In 2019 the film Yesterday was released. A struggling singer/songwriter is hit by a bus and a “glitch" occurs--he suddenly discovers he is the only person who has ever heard of the Beatles... In a panic, he googles them... nothing. No spoiler, ...

Django's Cosmic Echo

Chapter Seventeen: The Unspoken Duet

by Alan Bryson
July 8, 2025

Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 The air backstage at the Teatro Municipal thrummed with a contained electricity. Technicians scurried, musicians tuned, and the low murmur of the expectant Rio audience seeped through the heavy velvet curtains. Django Phralipen stood in the wings, his custom Gibson gleaming softly ...

Django's Cosmic Echo

Chapter Sixteen: Ghosts of Ipanema

by Alan Bryson
July 7, 2025

Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 The year was 1973. Five years had passed since the Kumpania tour had, against all odds, blazed a trail across the American Northeast, five years since Lenny Kramer's Rolling Stone feature had catapulted the Django Phralipen Brotherhood from an underground sensation to ...

Django's Cosmic Echo

Chapter Fifteen: The Kumpania Conquers the Northeast

by Alan Bryson
July 4, 2025

Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 Dave's call to Billy was met with an explosion of enthusiasm. “The Kumpania Plan? Man, I've been waiting for someone to have the guts to try it! Boston is cool, but the whole Northeast is full of places yearning for real music!" ...

Django's Cosmic Echo

Chapter Fourteen: The Kumpania Plan

by Alan Bryson
July 3, 2025

Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 The glow of the Paradiso triumph still lingered when Dirk gathered the band in their warehouse rehearsal space. “Good news, and... well, different news," he began, a familiar managerial caution in his voice. “EMI is ecstatic with the live recordings. They agree, ...

Django's Cosmic Echo

Chapter Thirteen: Paradiso Fire

by Alan Bryson
July 2, 2025

Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 The alchemy was immediate. The new members of the Django Phralipen Brotherhood hadn't just slotted in; they'd fused, creating a sound far richer and more complex than before. Marc Reuter's Hammond B3 swirled and pulsed, adding deep, soulful colors, while Rico's congas ...

Django's Cosmic Echo

Chapter Twelve: Toots is in Town

by Alan Bryson
July 1, 2025

Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 The roar of the KLM jet engines faded as the plane taxied towards a private section of Schiphol. At the behest of EMI, a sleek black Mercedes limousine waited discreetly on the tarmac. As the VIP stairway was positioned, a familiar figure ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Django Reinhardt

Source: Michael Ricci
January 23, 2023

All About Jazz is celebrating Django Reinhardt's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Django Reinhardt

Source: Michael Ricci
January 23, 2022

All About Jazz is celebrating Django Reinhardt's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Django Reinhardt

Source: Michael Ricci
January 23, 2021

All About Jazz is celebrating Django Reinhardt's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Django Reinhardt

Source: Michael Ricci
January 23, 2020

All About Jazz is celebrating Django Reinhardt's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Django Reinhardt

Source: Michael Ricci
January 23, 2019

All About Jazz is celebrating Django Reinhardt's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Django Reinhardt

Source: Michael Ricci
January 23, 2018

All About Jazz is celebrating Django Reinhardt's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Django Reinhardt

Source: Michael Ricci
January 23, 2017

All About Jazz is celebrating Django Reinhardt's birthday today!

Recording

French Guitars Unlimited

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
April 14, 2016

In 1966, French guitarist Francis Le Maguer formed a quartet of electric guitars known as the Barclay Stars. The group, named for the French Barclay record label, included Le Maguer, Paul Piguillem, Pierre Cullaz, Raymond Gimenes, Victor Apicella and other players at different points and on different album tracks. At times, the group was expanded to a quintet. By my count, the Barclay Stars released three albums in the late 1960s. The group's first album was called Guitars Unlimited, and ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Django Reinhardt

Source: Michael Ricci
January 23, 2016

All About Jazz is celebrating Django Reinhardt's birthday today!

Video / DVD

Weekend Extra: The MJQ And “Django”

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
August 23, 2015

One of the Modern Jazz Quartet’s signature pieces was “Django,” John Lewis’s homage to DjangoReinhardt (1910-1953). Reinhardt’s guitar playing reflected his upbringing in Gypsy communities in France and in Belgium, where he was born, and he became one of the most influential guitarists of his generation. Lewis captured much of the essence of Reinhardt’s music in a tune that became a modern jazz standard recorded not only by the MJQ but also by dozens of musicians including Ray Brown, Herbie ...
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