I'm a lucky guy. The ongoing discussions about great guitarists have me poring over my dusty old stacks of vinyl, saying to myself "Ooh, I'd forgotten about this one." On my way home from work I found myself humming a tune, but I couldn't place it for a while, and then it dawned on me that what was stuck in my head was an old Cole Porter song, Just One of Those Things.
I couldn't think where I knew it from, and while I was searching through the stacks of old albums in my basement I came across Django Reinhardt's Nuages. Nuages was one of Django's most famous songs, so there are many albums and compilations by that title. My particular copy is a German import, probably a bootleg, produced by a company called Astan in 1984. It features 12 tunes by Django and his Quintette du Hot Club de France recorded in London and Paris between 1935-1939 and 1946-1953, when Django died of a stroke.
I put on the record, which in addition to being scratchy old vinyl suffers from 1940s recording techniques and technology. The first tune, Gershwin's I Got Rhythm, got my foot tapping as I listened to the intertwining brilliance of Django's guitar and Stephane Grapelli's violin, with a rhythm section of just two guitars and a bass. As I continued to listen to the record, it occurred to me that the best of the melodic lines and heart-stopping inflections in the music of such luminaries as Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, Les Paul and George Benson were already present in the stylings Reinhardt recorded in the years surrounding World War II. His brilliant tonality, rippling arpeggios, airy lightness and instinctive rhythmic pulse are impressive by today's standards, but even more so when one considers that he was the very first to play the guitar as a lead instrument in popular music.
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Article comments
1 - Caleb Liu
I am not a great fan of Jazz guitar but having listened to Django, especially his recordings with Stephane Grapelli, I must agree that he really was something special.
He was one of the pioneers of Jazz guitar along with Charlie Christian, whose records such as The Genius Of The Electric Guitar are widely praised. Current Jazz Guitar great Bill Frisell named Christian and Django as two major influences.
I haven't managed to get a copy of Charlie Christian's recordings yet but chances are if you like Django, you'll like him as well
2 - JR
"...he was the very first to play the guitar as a lead instrument in popular music."
What about Eddie Lang?
3 - David
Everybody loves Django. He was the 1st jazz guitarist I could really get into.
Couple things I think make him unique. One is that he played so HARD - necessary, because he was originally an acoustic player, playing lead in jazz bands. Another thing was the gipsy flavor. Another is that unlike most guitarists in jazz (at least before fusion) he was ahead of the curve -one of the most advanced musicians of his time, as opposed to just adapting the innovations of sax or piano playing predecessors to his instument. I think there's a certain edge that true originals have that can never be copied.
4 - Taloran
Re: JR's comment number 2
Thanks for pointing out Eddie Lang. He had slipped under my radar - I'd never heard the name (or it never stuck) until I looked him up after reading your post. Allmusic.com lists him as the first guitar virtuoso, but also lists Django as the same.
I'll have to go find some of his music - any idea where I should start?
5 - JR
Unfortunately no. I've had a hard time finding recordings by these early guitarists myself. Probably because I'm too cheap to buy import CD's
Anyway, what I know about Eddie Lang comes from reading the guitar magazines. He apparently recorded several guitar duets with Lonnie Johnson that are considered classics. Lonnie Johnson would be another good early guy who fortunately lived a lot longer and recorded at least into the 1950's if not later.
6 - Eric Olsen
Lang also played with violinist Joe Venuti. Amazon lists 12 different Lang titles, not all of which are imports
7 - Lionel Harmsworth
Just wondered if anyone would like to accompany me on a cost saving trip to the festival in Samois in 2004/5 in my giant campervan
Please enquire for further details