For those of you who don’t know, Django Reinhardt was the World’s Greatest Guitar Player, and he did most of his best work in the 30’s and 40’s, despite a crippling burn injury to his hand. He played American jazz flavored with gypsy style, as he was a Roma.
I’ve been Googling a bit on DR, trying to discover how it was he escaped being thrown in a concentration camp, seeing as he (1) was a gypsy; (2) was disfigured; and (3) played verboten American jazz. Mr. Pug’s CD collection of DR’s best recordings were done in Paris during World War II. How in the world did DR avoid the Nazis? My Googling has been less successful. Thanks for any info.
No doubt official Nazi policy looked down on gypsies and jazz–but then official Nazi policy also looked down on its army engaging in wine, women, and song in an occupied city. Needless to say, what official policy said and what the German army did in Paris were two different things.
My copy of Jazz: The Rough Guide simply says “The Hot Club lasted until 1939, when Grappelli stayed in London for the duration of the war and Reinhardt once again went his own wandering way. On the road in his caravan [he kept] clear of the Germans as he meandered from Switzerland to North Africa…” Apparently during this time besides playing jazz he also worked on large-scale composition, including a symphony.
Despite my admiration for Reinhardt I think the idea of naming any single guitar player, even if one’s only talking about jazz, “the World’s Greatest Guitar Player”, is simply mistaken. We are talking about an instrument that’s been central to popular music & also in this century carved a niche for itself in classic music too, & seen over a century’s worth of innovative & skilled players. One doesn’t need spurious accolades to appreciate Reinhardt’s music & his significance.
Thanks for that link, Wumpus. Hmmpf - had Nazi protection, huh? That makes sense. DR probably paid the lieutenant, or perhaps the officer liked that degrading American jazz. Interesting.
Great thread – I am primarily a blues guitarist, but I dearly love Django – the post prompted me to get out the sheet music to “Django’s Castle” – emolson, find that one and you’re in for a treat.
The protection-from-the-Nazis thing is fascinating – some of the great Delta blues artists had similar arrangements with local sheriffs – my idol Charley Patton in particular. A very reassuring testament to the power of music.