Gypsy Jazz (Legacy of Django Reinhardt)

/ Juraj Havlík, III.D

/ manouche jazz? Django Reinhardt?

- “manouche” from the French term meaning “gypsy”- also: gypsy jazz / gypsy swing- style of jazz attributed to a gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt

and violinist Stephane Grapelli who founded the all strings jazz esemble - The Quintet du Hot Club de France, in the 1930s in Paris, France

- blending of gypsy musical elements with jazz - gypsies have carried and preserved the musical legacy of

Django Reinhardt

/ 1910 – 1953, Django Reinhardt

- 1910, Belgium / 1953, France- guitar-banjo player in his youth- later switched to the guitar after a near fatal injury when his

caravan caught fire / forced him to approach his instrument differently than many conventional guitarists

- Django overcame his handicap- 1929 – 1933 / with Stephane Grapelli he would jam

together, along with a loose circle of other musicians- 1934 / they were both invited to form the "Quintette du

Hot Club de France” / one of the few well-known jazz ensembles composed only of string instruments

/ 1910 – 1953, Django Reinhardt

- Django also played and recorded with many American jazz musicians / Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter, Rex Stewart, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie

- the quintet used the Selmer Maccaferri / the first commercially available guitars with a cutaway and later with an aluminium-reinforced neck

- after the war (Django survived the war, despite the Nazi regime's systematic murder of several hundred thousand European Romanis) he rejoined Grappelli in the UK

/ in 1946 he went to tour the United States as a special guest soloist with Duke Ellington and His Orchestra

/ 1910 – 1953, Django Reinhardt

- 1947 / Django returned to France / he spent the remainder of his days re-immersed in Romani life, having found it difficult to adjust to the modern world

- 1953 / Django collapsed from a brain haemorrhage

/ what makes this jazz gypsy

- although many instrumental lineups exist, a group including one lead guitar, violin, two rhythm guitars, and bass is often the norm

- gypsy jazz is a unique guitar discipline, and due to this, it’s associated with multiple techniques that are definitive of the sound of this music:

/ rhythm / rhythm guitar in gypsy jazz uses a special form of strumming known as "la pompe”

/ harmony / is based on the chord shapes Django was forced to use due to his injury

/ lead / playing in this style has been summarised as ornamented or decorated arpeggio

/ what makes this jazz gypsy

/ repertoire / gypsy jazz has its own set of frequently played standards, which are fairly distinct from the standards tunes of mainsteam jazz, however, contemporary ensembles may adapt almost any type of song to the style

/ gypsy jazz today

- Django invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique (sometimes called 'hot' jazz guitar) that has become a living musical tradition within French gypsy culture

- gypsy jazz has enjoyed a certain “revival” in a sense over the last decade, it can be attributed to a combination of factors :

/ growing popularity of current generation players

/ a wider availability of access to gypsy jazz recordings

/ growing availability of Selmer-Macaferri guitars

/ growing number of Django festivals worldwide

/ thanks for Your attention