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DJANGO REINHARDT
1910 -1953
Django
Reinhardt has astounded and thrilled numerous generations of guitar players
and jazz lovers with his amazing command of the guitar. January 24th, 1910 at
Liberchies Belgium, Django was born into the open air, rambling lifestyle of
his gypsy parents. At the age of eight, his mother's tribe settled near the
belt of fortifications that surrounded the old Paris, near the  Choisy gate. He never wore a suit or
lived in a real house until he was twenty years old. These French Gypsies or
Manouches were a world unto themselves, medieval in their beliefs, and
distrustful of modern science. Django grew up in this world of
contradictions, one foot in the bustling big city of Paris and the other in
the age-old life of the nomadic gypsy. Though born into poverty Django had
the soul of a nobleman and this natural elegance of bearing and attitude expressed
itself in his music.
It was at an early age Django became attracted to music. When twelve years
old he received his first instrument, a banjo/guitar that was given to him by
a neighbor who had noticed his keen interest in music. He quickly learned to
play, mimicking the fingerings of musicians he watched. He was soon
astounding adults with his ability on the guitar, and before he was thirteen
he began his musical career playing with popular accordionist Guerino at a
dance hall on the Rue Monge. He went on to play with numerous other bands and
musicians and made his first recordings with accordionist Jean Vaissade for
the Ideal Company. Since Django could not read or write at the time
"Jiango Renard" was how his name appeared on these records.
On November 2nd, 1928 an event took place that would forever change Django's
life. At one o'clock in the morning the 18 year old Django returned from a
night of playing music at a new club "La Java" to the caravan that
was now the home of himself and his new wife. The caravan was filled with
celluloid flowers his wife had made to sell at the market on the following
day. Django upon hearing what he thought was a mouse among the flowers bent
down with a candle to look. The wick from the candle fell into the highly flammable
celluloid flowers and the caravan was almost instantly transformed into a
raging inferno. Django wrapped himself in a blanket to shield him from the
flames. Somehow he and his wife made it across the blazing room to safety
outside, but his left hand, and his right side from knee to waist were badly
burned.
Initially doctors wanted to amputate his leg but Django refused. He was moved
to a nursing  home where the care was so good his
leg was saved. Django was bedridden for eighteen months. During this time he
was given a guitar, and with great determination Django created a whole new
fingering system built around the two fingers on his left hand that had full
mobility. His fourth and fifth digits of the left hand were permanently
curled towards the palm due to the tendons shrinking from the heat of the
fire. He could use them on the first two strings of the guitar for chords and
octaves but complete extension of these fingers was impossible. His soloing
was all done with the index and middle fingers! Film clips of Django show his
technique to be graceful and precise, almost defying belief.
Django was influenced by jazz recordings of Eddie Lang and Joe
Venuti, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. This new music found a
place deep in Django's heart. It provided the perfect vehicle for his
prodigious talent for improvisation. Django rarely if ever played a solo the
same way twice. Numerous recordings prove this to be true. His creative
genius was not only that of the master improviser, but also that of the
composer, and he can be credited with numerous pieces with beautiful melodies
and sophisticated, subtle harmonic structures. However, Django could not read
or write musical notation and he was at the mercy of others that could to get
his ideas down on paper.
1934 proved
to be the most important year of his life. The Quintet of the Hot Club of France
was born! As the fates would have it, the Quintet
was formed by a chance meeting of Django and Stéphane Grappelli. A band of
fourteen musicians including Django, Stéphane, Roger Chaput, and Louis Vola
were commissioned to play at the Hotel Cambridge at teatime. During
intermission Django would find a corner backstage and play his guitar. One
day Stéphane joined in and both were so pleased with the exchange they went
on to play together more and more frequently joined by Roger Chaput (guitar),
Louis Vola (bass), and eventually Django's brother Joseph (guitar). A small
record company Ultraphone recorded their first sides Dinah, Tiger Rag, Oh
Lady be Good, and I Saw Stars. These first records caused a sensation! The
Quintet went on to record hundreds of sides and had a following on both sides
of the ocean.
1939 found the Quintet touring in England when the war broke out. Django
returned to Paris  while Stéphane remained in England.
Django played and recorded throughout the war years substituting Hubert
Rostaing's clarinet for Stephen's violin. He somehow avoided the fate of many
of his kinfolk who went to their deaths in the Nazi concentration camps.
After the war he was rejoined by Stéphane and they again played and recorded.
He toured briefly with Duke Ellington in America and returned to Paris where
he continued his career until 1951 when he retired to the small village of
Samois sur Seine.
On May 16th 1953 Django suffered a massive brain hemorrhage and died, leaving
behind his wife Sophie and son Babik. His music remains as vital and exciting
today as it was when he lived, a legacy of joy to all future generations that
rediscover the genius of the Belgian gypsy Django Reinhardt. ~ Joseph Dinkins
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