One of my favorite guitarists is the French gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, who played in the 1930s and '40s. He often collaborated with jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli. Django Reinhardt was an amazing talent (especially considering his fingers were malformed), and he was a major influence on the '90s swing/lounge band 8 1/2 Souvenirs (based in Austin, Texas, but led by a Django-loving Frenchman), the music in the animated film The Triplets of Belleville, and the Woody Allen film Sweet and Lowdown, starring Sean Penn.