Djangology [Columbia]

by Django Reinhardt

Overview

In 1949, guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grappelli performed together for the first time since the outbreak of World War II put an end to the classic lineup of the Quintet of the Hot Club of France, with the pair reuniting in an Italian recording studio and laying down a number of tunes with a solid local rhythm section. In 1961, 12 songs from those sessions were released in the United States by RCA Victor under the name Djangology (and with Grappelli's name misspelled on the cover); this expanded CD reissue features 23 tunes recorded during Reinhardt and Grappelli's Rome sessions. Stylistically, this material doesn't represent a dramatic departure from the material Reinhardt recorded in the 1930s (while he'd been experimenting with an electric guitar at the time, these are fully acoustic sessions), though there are glimmers of new ideas the great guitarist had picked up along the way, most notably a few bop-influenced solos. But Reinhardt's trademark gypsy swing is still as effortlessly enthusiastic as ever, and his by-play with Grappelli is simply wonderful; the intuitive symmetry of their performances is a marvel, and it's hard to imagine that these musicians had spent ten years apart, given the ease and finesse with which they work together. (Bassist Carlo Pecori and drummer Aurelio de Carolis support the soloists well without imposing their personalities too strongly on the arrangements, and pianist Gianni Safred's free-spirited bounce meshes well with Reinhardt and Grappelli's more adventurous swing.) While the recording quality isn't perfect, it's noticeably better than the duo's earlier sessions, and the remastering for this collection brings out the details without taking the edges out of the sound. Djangology is a lovely set of late-era performances from Django Reinhardt, and if it isn't an ideal collection of his work, it's certainly better (and better presented) than most Reinhardt CD's currently on the market, and stands as further proof of the guitarist's casual genius. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	07/09/2002
Label:	Bluebird Rca / Rca
UPC:	0090266395729

Tracks

1. I Saw Stars
2. After You've Gone
3. Heavy Artillery (Artillerie Lourde)
4. Beyond the Sea (La Mer)
5. Minor Swing
6. Menilmontant
7. Brick Top
8. Swing Guitars
9. All the Things You Are
10. Daphn¿¿
11. It's Only a Paper Moon
12. Improvisation on Path¿¿tique (Andante)
13. The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise
14. Djangology
15. O¿¿ Es-Tu, Mon Amour? (Where Are You, My Love?)
16. Marie
17. I Surrender, Dear
18. Hallelujah
19. Swing '42
20. I'll Never Be the Same
21. Honeysuckle Rose
22. Lover Man
23. I Got Rhythm

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Django Reinhardt   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Turner Layton   Composer
Jerome Kern   Composer
Billy Rose   Composer
Jack Lawrence   Composer
Irving Berlin   Composer
Django Reinhardt   Composer
Clifford Grey   Composer
Frank Signorelli   Composer
Fats Waller   Composer
Charles Trenet   Composer
George Gershwin   Composer
Ira Gershwin   Composer
Ernest Seitz   Composer
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky   Composer
Maurice Sigler   Composer
Jimmy Davis   Composer
Eric Stern   Composer
Al Goodhart   Composer
Gus Kahn   Composer
Gordon Clifford   Composer
Henry Creamer   Composer
Vincent Youmans   Composer
Stephane Grappelli   Composer
Oscar Hammerstein II   Composer
E.Y. "Yip" Harburg   Composer
Eugene Lockhart   Composer
Leo Robin   Composer
Roger "Ram" Ramirez   Composer
Matty Malneck   Composer
Public Domain   Composer
Al Hoffman   Composer
Harry Barris   Composer
Emil Stern   Composer
Bob Reisner   Composer
Andy Razaf   Composer
Harold Arlen   Composer
Jimmy Sherman   Composer