Over the past year or so I've noticed a definite upswing (no pun intended) in the popularity of gypsy jazz, especially in the festival scene and slowly creeping into mainstream music as well. Having been to a few festivals around Australia in and around the new year I've seen more than my fair share of beards and double basses. Violins are everywhere. I see alot of duos and trios bringing up beat gypsy swing to the streets of the capital cities, and I'm all for it. It's a great genre to get into, especially as a player. People who can't abide the 'look at my chops' side of jazz also need to have a look at this style... So where to start? No one did it before, or has done it better since, than Django Reinhardt.
Django was born in Belgium, 1910, into a Romani gypsy lifestyle. Music for gypsies of this era was not a commercial product - it was a pastime and an act of celebration, always to accompany dance and involving the whole community. Playing from an early age, Reinhardt soon became proficient and did not let something like second degree burns stop him - Django lost the use of his right leg and two of his fretting fingers. All his solos are played with two fingers. I've got twice as many and I'll never be half as good.
Django Reinhardt is famous for his collaboration with French violinist Stephane Grappelli, an incredible player in his own right. They fused jazz harmony from the U.S. with gypsy melodies and instruments of their own traditions. The style they created came to be known as gypsy jazz, and although it has been widely reproduced no one has done it better than Django. Check out this tune, probably one of his most famous. If you like it, luckily huge anthologies of his music are readily available.
