[Reinhardt's] hugely innovative technique included, on a grand scale, such unheard of devices as melodies played in octaves, tremolo chords with shifting notes that sounded like whole horn sections, a complete array of natural and artificial harmonics, highly charged dissonances, super-fast chromatic runs from the open bass strings to the highest notes on the 1st string, an unbelievably flexible and driving right-hand, two and three octave arpeggios, advanced and unconventional chords and a use of the flattened fifth that predated be-bop by a decade...it is little wonder that guitar players were knocked sideways upon their first encounter with this full-blown genius.
~Ian Cruickshank
At age 18, Romani-French musician Django Reinhardt was in a fire that left him severely burned, resulting in permanent injuries to two fingers of his left hand. Somehow, he worked around it. For Music Monday, Minor Swing by Django Reinhart and Stéphane Grappelli and Joseph Joseph by Django and Stéphane-inspired Hot Club du Nax.
Okay, I thought I was done, but here's another Django-inspired group: Showarama Hot Gypsy Jazz. The violinist is "Dr. Sick."
2 comments:
Oh thanks for this post! I love Jazz and you've given me some new groups to check out.
Never heard of "gypsy jazz" but I like it!
And Django Reinhardt was a major talent.
Post a Comment