12/11/2015 DjangoReinhardt|Bio,Gear,Tabs,Chords|GypsyJazzGuitar

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Django Reinhardt
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Born GuitarLicks&Lessons
JazzChordProgressions
January23,1910inLiberchies,Belgium
DjangoReinhardtGuitarLicks
Died
2Djangoguitarlicks,aVIandoneminorlick.
May16,1953inFountainebleau,France
SummertimeGuitarChordStudy
ActiveYears

1910 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 2000 GypsyJazzGuitar

Styles LearnhowtoimproviseinthestyleofDjango KennyBurrellMinorBluesSolo
Reinhardt.
GypsyJazz(akaJazzManouche)
Swing QuestionsAboutDjangoReinhardt?
ContinentalJazz JazzGuitarChordTheory

DiscussDjangoReinhardt@thisthreadinthe
Influences JazzGuitarForum
EddieLang
AllTheThingsYouAre:
LouisArmstrong HarmonicAnalysis

GuitarGear

Comping:ThereWillNeverBe
DjangoReinhardt'sGuitars AnotherYou
AboutSelmerGuitars,theonlybrandofguitars
Djangousedthroughouthiscareer.
WesMontgomeryStyleChord
Solos

JeanBaptiste"Django"ReinhardtwasaGypsyjazzguitaristfrom
Belgium,whocanbeeasilyconsideredoneofthetop5,alltime PlayingChordMelodyJazz
"Jazzattractedme Guitar
influentialguitaristsinhistory.HeisarguablyequaltoCharlie
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Christian,butintermsofthepreelectricera,Djangoreignsasthe becauseinitIfounda
numberonecatalyst.
formalperfectionand
InWoodyAllen's1999film,SweetandLowdown,themain
character(playedbySeanPenn)isavirtuosoguitarist,obviously instrumentalprecisionthat
inspiredbyDjango.Themovieusedastrongguitarbasedscore
Iadmireinclassical
recordedbythetalentedHowardAlden.EventhoughPenn
courageouslyattemptedtofakethefingering,anyexperienced music,butwhichpopular
guitaristcouldeasilyseehewaswayoffthemark.However,the
musicdoesn'thave."
importantaspecttothis,ishowlegendaryDjangohasbecome,
asbothavirtuosomusicianandcultherowhosurvivedahorrible DjangoReinhardt
burnaccidentandyetovercamehishandicapandstillmastered
theguitar,takingittoanewlevelofunparalleledimprovisational
prowess.

Biography
FAQ
BornJanuary1910inLiberchies(Belgium),DjangoReinhardtwasraisedwithinthenomadiclifeofa
Whatisagoodguitartoplay
Romgypsycaravan,followingthevariousGypsytribestotransientlocationswithprimitiveconditions. jazz?
Reinhardt'snicknamewas"Django",theRomaniwordfor"Iawake".Reinhardtneversetfootinareal
houseordecenthabitablestructureuntilhewas20,butgrewuplivingintheignominiousslumsand
squalorofouterParisneartheChoisyGate. Whatisthebestjazzguitaramp?

Djangodevelopedastronginterestinmusicwhichresultedinhisfirst
instrumentalescapadesonviolinandbanjo.Beingexposedtothe
GypsymusicmixedwithavastarrayofEuropeangenres,hepicked HowdoImixjazzandblues?
upandabsorbedahugepalletofharmonictonalitiesatanearlyage.

DjangoReinhardtquicklybecamefacileontheviolinandswitchedto
guitarinhisearlyteens.Byage13hewasalreadyperformingwith Whatareguitarmodesandhow
accordionistGuerinointheRueMonge.PlayingaroundtheParis canIusethem?
environsandastonishinglistenerswithhisprodigiousskillsonthe
guitarandviolin,heplayedwithnumeroussmallbandseventually
YoungDjangowithBanjo recordingwithaccordionistJeanVaissadeontheIdealLabel. HowcanIplaygypsyjazzguitar
inthestyleofDjangoReinhardt?

Gypsy Jazz
Whatarearpeggiosandhowcan
Ilearn/usethem?

GypsyJazz(akaGypsySwingakaJazzManouche)isthejazzstylemadefamousbyDjango,
originatinginFranceinthe1930s.
HowDoIPlaytheChordsofTake
Mostgypsyjazzbandsexistonlyofstringinstruments.Thedrumisreplacedby2rhythmguitarsthat theATrain?

areplayedusingaspecifictechniquecalled"lapompe".Thisspecialkindofstrummingisdoneby
playingafastupdownstrumfollowedbyadownstrum.
Whatisthebebopscaleandwhat
Theleadguitar(andviolin)areplayedinavirtuose,chromaticstylewithaheavyswingfeel(see canIdowithit?
DjangoReinhardt'sguitartechniquefurtherbelow).

Mostgypsymusicianscouldn'treadmusic,theirmusicaltraditionwaspasseddownfromtheolder HowtoPlayBlueBossaChords?
generationtotheyounger.Beginningplayerswereusuallytaughtbyafamilymemberandbylistening
torecordings.

HowcanIplaythechordsofa
The Accident bluesinajazzyway?

Django'scareercametoascreaminghaltonNovember2,1928,
whenhewas18yearsold.Duetoanaccident,Djangoigniteda "Byfarthemost
fireballthatengulfedthetrailerhousewhereheandhisfirstwife For Beginners
astonishingguitarplayer
Florine"Bella"Mayerlived.Florinemadeandsoldimitation
IntroductiontotheMinorBlues
flowerswithpaperandcelluloid,bothhighlyflammable.Returning everhasgottobeDjango Scale
fromagig,Djangoknockedoveracandleandthefirequickly
Reinhardt...Djangowas
spread...

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WIththehelpfromneighborsandfamily,theybothbarely HowtoReadJazzChordChanges
quitesuperhuman,there's
scrambledtosafety.Djangowasseriouslyburned,hisrightleg
wasparalyzedandthethirdandfourthfingersofhislefthand nothingnormalabouthim
severelydamaged.
asapersonoraplayer..." 5JazzyPentatonicScalePatterns
Itwasduringhisperiodofconvalescencethatheagain
JeffBeck
demonstratedman'spropensityforperseveranceagainstallodds.
Withhisthirdandfourthdigitsbadlymangledbytheburns,
BesameMuchoChords
shrinkingthetendons,hecouldonlyusehisfirsttwofingerstofretnotes,whilehisburntfingers
werebarelyabletofretnotesonthefirsttwostringsonly.

ItwasduringthislongrecoveryperiodthatDjango'ssheerwillpoweranddetermination,motivatedhim
5EssentialJazzGuitarSoloing
toconfigureanentirelynewfingeringsysteminorderforhimtoplaywithfacilityashedidbefore,but
Patterns
onlywithtwofingersfreedupforsinglelinesoloing.

Totheamazementofall,heperseveredandcameoutstrongerandbetterthanever,especiallyafter
hearingLouisArmstrong's"DallasBlues"onanold78record.Soonaftertheaccidenthediscovered 5ClassiciiVILicks

jazzandstrovetofindasmanyrecordsofArmstrong,DukeEllington,EddieLangandJoeVenutias
hecould.EddieLang'sstylefiguresprominentlyinDjango'sfreeswingingyetmelodiclines.

Top50JazzGuitarBooks

Quintette du Hot Club de France

Top100JazzGuitarAlbums
Beforetheaccident,Django'sworkandstylewasvery
muchinfluencedbythe"musette"styleofotherGypsy
guitarplayerslikeGusthiMalha.Afterdiscoveringjazz,
hetriedtoplaythisnewstyleinthemusetteclubs
whereheusuallygigged,butthiswasnotappreciated
there...

Tofindmindlikemusicians,heoftenvisitedtheHot
ClubofParis,wherein1934Reinhardteventuallyhad
thegoodfortunetorunintoStephanGrappelli,agreat
swingviolinist,whouponplayingwithDjango,
QuintetteduHotClubdeFrance discoveredthattheycreatedimmediatesynergy.Asa
resultoftheirhistoricalmeeting,thetwoformedanall
stringensemblecalledQuintetteduHotClubdeFrance
("TheQuintetoftheHotClubofFrance")featuringDjango,Grappelli,RogerChaput(rhythmguitar),
LouisVola(bass)andDjango'sbrotherJosephReinhardt(rhythmguitarduringDjango'ssolos).

Duringthemidandlate30s,DjangoandGrappelli'sbandwassopopular,theywereaskedtorecord
theirfirstrecordwithasmallcompanycalledUltraphone.Therecordingincludesclassicssuchas
TigerRag,Dinah,OhLadybeGood,andISawStars.Therecordimmediatelyreceivedrave
reviewsandwaseventuallyexportedtotheUS.

Soon,DjangoandGrappellibecameasensationinbothEuropeandNorthAmericawiththousandsof
wouldbeguitarists,pickingupaninstrument,tryingtoemulatethemercurialDjango.Djangoand
GrappellicontinuedtorecordwithotherlabelsaswellsuchasDeccaandHMV.

AsDjangocontinuedtotourandrecord,healsobecameagiftedcomposerwiththeoccasional
collaborationofGrappelli,penningsuchstandardsasNuages,Daphne,Manoirdemesrevesand
thefreneticMinorSwingplusatributetohisrecordinglabelStompingattheDecca.

Django'srecordingspermeatedeveryfacetofjazz,swingandpopularrecordingstronglyinfluencing
manyofAmerica'sprominentjazzplayers,composersandevensingers.Hismusichelpedtodevelop
Americancountrywesternswingalongwithmainstreamjazzswingandtothisday,hasitsimprinton
thesweepinglandscapeofmusicalgenres.

CharlieChristianclearlyassimilatedasmuchofDjango'sincrediblesolodynamicsashecouldinorder
todevelophisownuniquegraspofjazzimprovisation.So,whileperformingandrecording,
unbeknownsttothehumbleGypsy,hewascreatinglegionsoffollowersthatwouldforeveralterthe
landscapeofguitar.

World War II

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In1939,whilethebandwastouringEngland,WWIIraiseditsbrutalheadandwiththeNaziinvasions
ofEurope,DjangooptedtoreturnhometoFranceandsomehowsurvivethewaronthemainland.
Duringthisphase,hereplacedGrappelli(whoremainedbehindBritain)andproceededtotourand
recordtothedelightofhisinternationalaudience.

In1941DjangomarriedhissecondwifeSophieZieglerandin1944theirsonBabikReinhardtwas
born.Babikbecamearespectedguitaristhimself,buthewasnottaughtbyhisfather,whowantedhim
tolearnpiano.Insteadhelearnedtoplayguitarwiththehelpofvariousfamilymembers.

Here'savideoofBabikReinhardtplayingDjango'stuneNuages(withChristianEscoude):

ItwasamiraclethatDjangoReinhardtsurvivedWOIIunharmedbecausebothgypsiesandjazz
musiciansweresoughtafterandmurderedbytheNazis.Itissaidthathestoodundertheprotectionof
DietrichSchulzaka"DoktorJazz",aGermanofficerwhoadmiredjazzmusic.

WhenFrancewasfinallyliberatedandthewarcametoaneventualclose,Reinhardtbroughtover
luminarieslikeMelPowell,PeanutsHuckoandRayMcKinleytoperformwithhisbandandeventually,
GrappellireturnedtoplayinDjango'sfamousorchestrauntil1946whenDjango'scareermadeaslight
detourtotheUnitedStates.

Duke Ellington

In1946DjangowasaskedtotourwiththelegendaryDukeEllington.StephaneGrappelliandtherest
ofthebandwerealsoinvitedforthistour,butDjangonevertoldthemandwentonhisown.Django
performedontheelectricguitar(anEpiphoneZephyrorGibsonL5,dependingonthesource)forthe
firsttimeduringthistour.Hedidn'tbringhisownguitartotheStatesbecausehethoughtguitar
builderswouldbefightingoverwho'sguitarhewouldplay.UnfortunatelyforDjangothiswasn'tthe
caseandhewasforcedtoborrowaguitarfromafriend.

Accordingtomanyobserversandbaseduponhisperformancesthatwererecordedduringthisperiod,
hisplayingdidn'tdemonstratethefluid,creativeconsistencyhewasknownfor,probablyduetothe
factthathedidn'tfindaguitarhewascomfortablewith.AfterthetourwithEllington,Djangoplayed
soloforacoupleofweeksincafesaroundNY,buthesoongottiredoftheStatesandreturnedto
France.ThistripwasDjango'sonlyvisittotheUS.

ListentoDjangoReinhardtplayingHoneysuckleRosewithDuke'sband(onelectricguitar):

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12/11/2015 DjangoReinhardt|Bio,Gear,Tabs,Chords|GypsyJazzGuitar

DuringhisreunionperformanceswithGrappelli,Django
againflaredhisbrilliantenergizedswingwork,thehallmark
ofhisstyleandusingsubtleextractsofthenewBop
soundsfromacrosstheatlantic,hismusicsoaredagainto
thedelightoflistenersandfanseverywhere.

Intheearly50sDjangobecameincreasinglysecludedand
onlyoccasionallyperformedorrecorded.Hebecamevery
unpredictable,notshowingupforconcertsorforgetting
hisguitar.
Django'splaqueinSamoissurSeine
In1951,DjangosemiretiredtothesmallFrenchvillage,
SamoissurSeine.Shortlyafterrecordinghislastsession(Djangology),Djangodiedofabrain
hemorrhageinMay1953.

Django Reinhardt's Guitar Technique

Django'sguitartechniquewas100%unique.Firstandforemost,hehadtohandleallsinglelinesolos
withtwofingers.

Djangoemployedchordsthatwherenotusedatthattime.Hewasabletofingerjustaboutanychord
voicingheneededusinghistwocurledinfingerstofretnotesontheuppertwostringsBandE,while
histwohealthyfingershandledthemidandbassstrings.Unusedstringswereoftenmutedbytheleft
hand.Standardminorandmajorchordswerenotused,butreplacedbyminor6,major6andmajor
6/9.Dominantsoftenhadb9andb13tensions.

Hehadanamazinglydexterouspickinghandandwasabletomaximizeitsuse,compensatingforhis
twofingeredsolos.Harmonically,consideringtheera,Djangowasveryadvanced.

Someimportantelementsofhisguitarstyle:

Arpeggios:Djangousedalotofarpeggiosinhissolos.Sometimesheletsallarpeggionotes
precedebyaleadingtone,likeinthisexampleonaGtriadarpeggio:

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Chromatism:chromaticnotesareanimportantaspectofthegypsysound.
Thediminishedsound:diminishedarpeggiosandchordswereoftenused,forexampleover
dominantchords(BdiminishedarpeggiooverG7,resultsinaG7b9sound).Playingall
diminishedchordinversionsafteroneanotherisalsoapopulartechnique.
Glissando:aslidethatresultsinarapidseriesofascendingordescendingnotes.
Octaves:Djangowasoneofthefirstguitariststoemployoctaves.
Stringbends

Django's Legacy

Django'shistoricalimportanceisbeyondclichwordslikelegacy,hehaseasilybeenoneofthe
mostinfluentialguitaristsinjazz.Arguably,theonlyEuropeanjazzmusicianstorendersucha
broadandallinclusiveinfluencemightbeJoeZawinul,JanHammer,JohnMcLaughlinandothersbut
DjangohadbyfarthemostprestigiousinfluenceonAmericanjazzguitaristsandmusiciansingeneral.

PioneerslikeLesPaul,JohnnySmith,CharlieChristianandWesMontgomeryallsaluteDjangoasone
oftheirprimaryinfluences.Addtothatlistliterallyalltheremaininggreatsofjazzguitaralongwith
blues,rock,country,folk,countryswing,andbluegrassplayersandyouhaveanentireplethoraof
musiciansmovedandinspiredbytheingenious,virtuoseworkofDjangoReinhardt.

Things to Remember & Trivia

DjangoReinhardtisperhapsthemostfamousEuropeanjazzmusician.Hewasbornin
Belgium,butlivedmostofhisliveinFrance.
Afteranaccidenthewasleftwithonly2fullyfunctionalfingersonhislefthand(besideshis
thumb).Hehadtoreinventhisentirefingeringsystem.
HisbandQuintetteduHotClubdeFrance,featuringthefamousviolinplayerStephane
Grappelli,wasasensationinEuropeandtheStates.
BesidesalittleelectricexcursionwhenhewastouringwithDukeEllington,Djangosolelyplayed
acousticSelmerguitarsduringhisentirecareer
Django'smostpopularcompositions:Nuages,MinorSwing,Djangology,Swing'42,Belleville
DjangoReinhardtcouldnotreadmusic.
Reinhardt'snickname"Django"istheRomaniwordfor"Iawake".
Django'ssonBabikandhisgrandsonDavidarerespectedjazzguitaristsaswell.
DjangoReinhardtreachedthe66thplaceinthe2005electionofTheGreatestBelgian.
There'sastarnamedafterDjango.
BarneyKesselownedoneofDjangoReinhardt'sguitars.Itdidn'tstayintunethoughand
Barneyhadproblemsplayingchordsonit.

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12/11/2015 DjangoReinhardt|Bio,Gear,Tabs,Chords|GypsyJazzGuitar

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