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DJANGO REINHARDT Vol.4 1937 Swingin’ with Django NAXOS JAZZ LEGENDS 8. 120698

 

 

1. Miss Annabelle Lee
2. Chicago
3. Runnin’ Wild
4. Liebestraum No.3
5. Mystery Pacific
6. In a Sentimental Mood
7. The Sheik of Araby
8. Improvisation
9. Parfum
10. I’ve Found a New Baby
11. St Louis Blues
12. Bouncin’ Around
13. Minor Swing
14. Viper’s Drag
15. Swingin’ with Django
16. Paramount Stomp
17. My Serenade
18. Interpretation Swing sur la premier mouvement du Concert en re mineur de J S Bach
19. Improvisation sur le premier mouvement du Concerto en re mineur de J S Bach
20. Fiddle’s Blues

Tracks 1 to 7

Stephane Grappelli – violin

Reinhardt - solo guitar

Pierre Ferret, Marcel Bianchi – rhythm guitars

Louis Vola – bass

Tracks 8,9

Reinhardt – solo guitar

Track 10

Reinhardt – guitar

Stephane Grappelli – violin

Tracks 11,12

Reinhardt, Louis Gaste – guitars

Eugene d’Hellemmes – bass

Tracks 13,14,17

Grappelli - violin

Django Reinhardt, Joseph Reinhardt, Eugene Vees – guitars

Louis Vola – bass

Tracks 15,16

Grappelli, Michel Warlop – violin

Django & Joseph Reinhardt, Eugene Vees – guitars

Louis Vola –bass

Tracks 18,19

Eddie South, Grappelli – violin

Reinhardt – Guitar

Tracks 20

South, Grappelli – violin

Reinhardt – guitar

Paul Cordonnier – bass

All the tracks on this CD were recorded in 1937, but due to the skill of the NAXOS team in enhancing the sound, you would have thought they were more recent recordings. The line of the Quintette Du Hot Club De France was dictated by the fact that the electric guitar had not been invented at this time and the instruments chosen did not swamp the superb guitar playing of Django Reinhardt. Django was a significant contributor to jazz and the band that Stephane led to his much later end, was always similar to the 1937 band, save for the inclusion of the electric guitar.

When these tracks were recorded Grappelli was 27 and Reinhardt 29, but they were both fully developed as stylists, Reinhardt died in 1953, but Grappelli carried on the tradition until 1997, by which time he was 90 years of age.

As well as the usual Hot Club sounds, this record contains some virtuoso solo performances by Reinhardt, as well three tracks with US jazz violinist Eddie South and two with another French violinist, Michel Warlop. Joseph Reinhardt also plays guitar on some tracks and I have no idea who he was, hopefully a reader will be able to tell me. Michel Warlop has a lighter sound than Grappelli, but Eddie Smith and Grappelli are similar in both tone and approach, the Improvisation being the loser and more interesting of the two J S Bach tracks.

Once again NAXOS have preserved for posterity an interesting year in the development of jazz, more particularly acoustic jazz.

 

Don Mather

 

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