:: The Mob ::

Django Reinhardt was the first hugely influential jazz figure to emerge from Europe - and he remains the most influential European to this day, with possible competition from Joe Zawinul, George Shearing, John McLaughlin, his old cohort Stephane Grappelli and a bare handful of others.

A free-spirited gypsy, Reinhardt wasn't the most reliable person in the world, frequently wandering off into the countryside on a whim. Yet Reinhardt came up with a unique way of propelling the humble acoustic guitar into the front line of a jazz combo in the days before amplification became widespread. He would spin joyous, arcing, marvelously inflected solos above the thrumming base of two rhythm guitars and a bass, with Grappelli's elegantly gliding violin serving as the perfect foil. His harmonic concepts were startling for their time - making a direct impression upon Charlie Christian and Les Paul, among others - and he was an energizing rhythm guitarist behind Grappelli, pushing their groups into a higher gear. Not only did Reinhardt put his stamp upon jazz, his string-band music also had an impact upon the parallel development of Western swing, which eventually fed into the wellspring of what is now called country music.

Although he could not read music, with Grappelli and on his own, Reinhardt composed several winsome, highly original tunes like "Daphne," "Nuages" and "Manoir de mes reves," as well as mad swingers like "Minor Swing" and the ode to his record label of the `30s, "Stomping At Decca." As the late Ralph Gleason said about Django's recordings, "They were European and they were French and they were still jazz."

nas páginas amarelas.


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afinal também tenho ouvido isto. sem querer, descobri-o há coisa de um ano, aqui. este é o som do princípio do jazz, das ruas pontilhadas de luzes cheias de movimento, dos clubes nocturnos servindo rendez-vous mafiosos, da joie de vivre da década de 1930, o som dos fru-frus dos vestidos das senhoras ao ritmo do swing e do charleston, enfim - em última instância, é este o som (agora cheio de nostalgia) que acompanha o Tommy, a correr pelas ruas de uma cidade chamada Lost Heaven, fielmente acompanhado da sua Colt 1911.
e além de tudo isso, é boa música para estes dias de Primavera concretizada.