What is it about jazz? There’s something sensual, slightly dangerous, artistically edgy about jazz in all it’s forms. Is it the fact that no two true jazz performances are alike? Some argue that to record jazz, to freeze those unique performances in time so they can be repeated, is heresy, and perhaps it is, but without the magic of sound recording, we would never be able to hear some of the true virtuosos. One that stands out as perhaps the most romantic of them all, is Django Reinhardt.
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Jean Reinhardt was born in Belgium in 1910 but given the nickname ‘Django’ (I awake) by his family, a tribe of Romani or gypsy people. Reinhardt was the ultimate romantic figure, a gypsy prodigy who began by playing violin, then mastered the banjo at an early age and progressed to guitar. His mother’s tribe settled in the out-skirts of Paris when Django was 8 and his career began at age 13 when he began to play at a dance hall. He worked with a number of bands and musicians and made recordings accompanying an accordion player.
Django Reinhardt
On November 2nd 1928 Django, knocked over a candle in the caravan which was his home. The caravan was filled with flammable material which his new wife was using to make flowers for sale in the local town, and erupted in flames almost instantly. Django and his wife managed to get out, but his left hand and right side were very badly burned, so much so that doctors wanted to amputate his leg, saying it could not be saved. The fourth and fifth fingers of his left hand were left permanently curled towards the palm as the tendons had been damaged by the heat of the fire.
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Django refused the amputation and went to a nursing home, but nothing could be done for the damaged fingers. Despite this Django’s brother Joseph, also a guitarist, bought him a new guitar and throughout the eighteen months it took him to recover the use of his leg, Django taught himself to play in a new style, using only two fingers.
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In 1934 Django met jazz violinist Stephane Grapelli. They were part of a 14 piece band engaged to play at teatime a the Hotel Claridge. In his free time Django played his guitar backstage and Grapelli and others joined in. They were overheard by members of the Hot Club of France, (a society devoted to the appreciation of jazz) who were impressed. Recordings were arranged and the club suggested the formation of a permanent group. The ‘Quintet of the Hot Club of France’ began recording in 1934 despite being turned down by one recording company for being too modern. The group was unusual in being composed of only string instruments, Grapelli on violin, Django, his brother Joseph and Roger Chaput playing guitar and Louis Vola playing bass. Their records were a great success and tours followed. The quintet has been described as ‘one of the most original bands in the history of recorded jazz’.
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When war broke out the Quintet were touring England. Stephane Grapelli remained in England, but Django could speak little English and returned to France. Although the Romani people were being exterminated alongside the Jews, and jazz was viewed as decadent and forbidden, Django prospered. He wasn’t just a performer, he was also a composer and in 1940 wrote his most famous creation, Nuages (which means ‘Clouds’) which some say was an anthem for the sad state of occupied France.
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The Quintet
After the war, the quintet came together once more and in 1946 Django toured the USA as a guest soloist with Duke Ellington. He played two nights at Carnegie Hall and from all accounts enjoyed the experience. Afterwards he returned to France and immersed himself again in the Romani world, apparently finding aspects of the modern world difficult. He still gave concerts but had a reputation for being very unreliable, sometimes failing to turn up because he had preferred a walk on the beach.
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He retired in 1951, but continued to play, eventually experimenting with the electric guitar. He was only 42 when, quite suddenly, he died. Having spent the morning fishing Django visited a cafe and then walked home. He collapsed, but the ambulance took a day to arrive and Django was declared dead on arrival in hospital. He had suffered a brain haemorrhage.
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Throughout his life Django usually played an acoustic Selmer-Maccaferri guitar and instrument he liked because it was loud enough to be heard over the others in a band. After Django’s death his wife donated Django’s guitar (serial number 503) to the Musée de la Musique in Paris where it can be seen.
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Although Reinhardt died more than half a century ago, his influence on jazz on both sides of the Atlantic has been enormous. His music is still very much in vogue and has been heard in films such as The Aviator, Gattaca and The Matrix as well as several video games such as BioShock.
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We can’t all be romantic prodigies, scarred for life but triumphing over the odds. It sounds far too much like a corny Hollywood biopic, though it is a true life tale. But Django Reinhardt was real; he has and will continue to be an inspiration. He was a prodigy, but if he could play with only two useable fingers, imagine what you could do with yours? How about a jazz guitar lesson?.
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