django rheinhardt

[cleofus1]

Any fans out there?

[yorgatron]

1. i HATE him!

he plays a million times better than me with TWO FINGERS!!! that's just not fair :cry:

[cleofus1]

2. I feel your pain....

I personally am from the "ramones" guitar school...

[ProfessorGAC]

10. A Bit of A Myth

Yes, he did have his index and little finger damaged in a teen year fire. But, he did have mobility of what was left of the index finger and used it a lot(!) as a partial barre along the first three strings.

He also could use is as his root position for soloing, so for some (but not all) runs, he was really playing with three fingers.

While that still leaves only three fingers, he had really big hands (which you can see in the picture) and often wrapped his thumb over the top of the neck to get some barre effect on the 5th and 6th strings.

This isn't meant to diminish anything about him. I love his playing. He invented jazz guitar, in my mind. Actually, i think his tone was superior to most everyone who followed him, because it was less mushy and rolled off. It had a edgier tone (closer to the sax sound he was trying to duplicate melodically).

My fave jazz guitarist ever is Tal Farlow, and Tal says he wouldn't be a guitarist if not for Django. It's just that the myth of his two fingered playing endures, despite the fact that it's not completely accurate.
The Professor

[jacksonian]

3. let's not forget Stephane Grappelli either

was there ever a pair that sounded so sweet?

[cleofus1]

4. for a long time I thought Stephane was a girl....

DOH!

[Quahog]

5. Melodious

Man, Django's sense of melody was just phenomenal. It's easy to get caught up in his technique, which was truly dizzying, but the guy had an uncanny ability to build his solos around the actual melody of a song, not just the changes. An amazing talent, one of those guys with such a unique voice on the guitar that I have never tried to imitate him or cop any of his licks. He's too good, I just can't touch him (even after 30 years of practicing!).

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

6. I adore the "Djangonator"!!!!

King of Gipsy Jazz!!!

[cleofus1]

7. And check out that guitar he's playing....

A piece of art in itself. Can anyone identify it? I think it's an old Gibson...but that's as far as I can go now...

[dbt]

9. L-5 maybe?

Unusual for him as he is normally seen playing a cutaway flattop.

:shrug:
dbt

[ProfessorGAC]

11. Doesn't An L-5 Have A Cutaway?

Maybe not, but i thought the L-5 was a archtop, with a fairly rounded cutaway.

It could be D'Angelico, too! Lots of jazz guys from that era played those. But, that's just a guess.
The Professor

[cleofus1]

14. wow...i was really obsessing over this...

cause he usually played a whole different kind of guitar...but here is an image with Django and his L-5

[ProfessorGAC]

16. I Stand Corrected

Thanks for the clarification. I had a different guitar pictured in my head. Apparently, the one i had in my mind is NOT and L-5. I know some of the old Gibson stuff, but i'm a Fender (and derivitives) guy, so my knowledge of this is sketchy.

Now, i know better.
The Professor

[Quahog]

21. You're thinking of his Selmer-Maccaferri

Gitane Guitars makes an exact replica of Django's signature axe:



$699 at Musicians Friend. Have no idea how it actually sounds, of course, as I have not seen one in person.

(Disclaimer: I am not in any way associated with Musicians Friend or Guitar Center Inc... except for the fact that I owe them LOTS of money!)

[dbt]

8. MAD props to Django!

Just like Segovia, he couldn't possibly have played with fingers like that!

:wow:
dbt

(And a side of Props to Grappelli. Jesus CHRIST!)

[cleofus1]

12. here's another

Django and Stephane

[cleofus1]

13. this may be closer...

[mac56]

15. Django was brilliant.

My dad turned me on to him many years ago.

[bif]

17. I've got a 10 disc box set of his music

So yes, you could say I'm a fan. Have you heard Birelli Lagrene? He's Django reincarnate. Started recording when he was 11, I believe. And he's a Gypsy too.

[ProfessorGAC]

18. I've Got That Too!

Fun stuff. The songs are good enough that even some of the marginal recording equipment of the day is ignorable.

Some of the later stuff sounds pretty good, but the early stuff is pretty primitive.
The Professor

[bif]

19. I bought it in Montreal. I think it's a French import

Is that the same one? It was an incredible deal. Something like $50 Canadian.

[ProfessorGAC]

20. Not Sure

I'd have to look. I got it at a small record store in Kankakee. They have lots of esoteric stuff. It's probably the stuff other record stores won't buy, so they get it discounted.

I didn't pay much for it either. I'm guessing in the neighborhood of what you paid, but i don't remember for sure.
The Professor

[cleofus1]

22. Selmer vs Gibson

Did he play classical strings (nylon) on the Selmer and steel strings on the Gibson?

[Quahog]

23. Don't think so

I've never heard a Django recording that sounded like he was playing nylon or gut strings. Always sounds like he kept his action pretty low, as he gets a bit of fret buzz on his solos and when he's strumming hard on rhythm parts.

[cleofus1]

24. ok...

"The final result was a mix of classical and western guitar bodies, with a large D-hole and an extra sound box. Additionally, the strings were attached in the same way as on a violin, or arch-top guitar, and the guitar neck bent backwards, as on a mandolin, which gave more tension on the strings, resulting in greater volume. The top was made of fir, whilst the sides and back were of laminated Indian Rosewood. European Walnut was used for the neck, and the fingerboard, which was the same bredth as a classical guitar, was of ebony. The strings on the Maccaferri were "Argentine", a light steel string, still produced in France. Sadly Maccaferri only made 300 signed guitars, before there arose a conflict in his partnership with Selmer, after just two years of production.

Although there were some modifications after Maccaferri left Selmers factory, it was basically a guitar of this type that Django Reinhardt used in the early stages of his career. This guitar is known as the "post Maccaferri" and was the instrument that Django used for the majority of his recordings. The extra sound box was removed, as this worked best on the classical model, the neck and fingerboard were made two frets longer, so that 14 frets were free, as opposed 12 on the classical model. This extension was made following requests from Django and other musicians to make it easier to play in the higher registers. Reinhardt himself played a great deal at the top end, it gave a brighter, sharper sound that enabled him to compete with the violin and lift his solos above the other guitars in the quintet. At the same time the distance between the frets was shortened, which combined with the cut away, suited Djangos 2-finger techinique. The original D-hole was altered to a smaller oval hole, this was not so much on account of the tone, but to accomodate the microphones of the time which were unsuitable for the big D-hole. "

http://www.hotcc.dk/UK/Guitaren.htm

[Bridget Burke]

25. Uncle Walt's Band turned me on to Gypsy Jazz

Originally from North Carolina, they were part of the Austin music scene back in the 70's & played many a gig down here in dirty old Houston. They were three songwriters playing acoustic instruments, each capable of singing lead--& together capable of goosebump-raising harmony. Young Lyle Lovett was a fan & worked hard to get the word out after he got famous. One verse of "That's Right, You're Not from Texas" was about them and he used many of Walter Hyatt's songs on his "Step Inside this House" collection of (mostly) Texas singer/songwriters. Walter died in the Valujet crash.

Champ Hood played guitar, mandolin & fiddle. Western swing was/is big in Texas but his Swing owed more to the Hot Club of France than the Texas Playboys; one of his fiddle tunes was called "An American in Texas". He continued as a session musician in Austin & died of lung cancer a couple of years ago. (David Ball has managed a fairly decent career in Nashville.)

I learned even more about Django & Stephan Grapelli from a fiddle player who's also departed. I got to hear Grapelli play--he lived into his 90's & played almost to the end.

--And rowdy Jerry Jeff Walker named his son Django.

[cleofus1]

26. Chet Atkins...

had a django sound that I noticed....turns out django was a big influence on his playing....

"Chet tried to get the Merle Travis sound, and in the process, he came up with his own and then, he discovered Django Reinhardt and that set something loose in him...

He met Django backstage once in Chicago when Django was touring with Duke Ellington and got his autograph. Chet said, "I wanted to play for him but I didn't get the chance." But in Knoxville, doing the Midday Merry Go Round, he met Homer and Jethro,Henry Haynes and Kenneth Burns, who were hip to Django too and on Chet's wavelength and in 1949 they made an instrumental album called "Galloping Guitar" ---- sort of the Hot Club of Nashville. It got some airplay and that was his first big success and he was on his way."

http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/features/deskofgk/010703_eulogy.shtml

[cleofus1]

27. bump it

n/t