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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). Bla...
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