[ Quintette du Hot Club de France ]
[ The Quintet of the Hot Club of France ]
Overview
(Here's a photograph of the Quintet of the Hot Club of France. ( Left to Right: Stephane Grappelli,Eugene Vees, Emmanuel Soudieux, Django Reinhardt, Joseph Reinhardt. ) And, a close-up of Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhart.)

  VIDEO: "J'Attenndrai"   ("I Will Wait"). This is the whole 6 minute ca. 1937 Baro Ferret Film "Django - Jazz Hot". This short film was made about 1937 as an advertisement for Django's brand of music before a tour of Great Britain to educate music-hall audiences on what jazz was all about. In those days, many people thought improvisations were due to bad musicianship---musicians who couldn't play in tune! This film was "lost"---even forgotten---for decades until a French fan of cartoons with jazz soundtracks found it in a brocante junkshop in a 'marché aux puces' - in a film can simply marked "Jazz Hot"; the price was right, so he bought it, and voilà, here's the film! (From: micheldregni)

They began their partnership as as a backstage 'jam' duo, whose playing was inspired by the Joe Venuti/Eddie Lang sessions of the late 1920's. Over their later careers, both men often collaborated with American Jazz stars, but never reached the success of their early work together. With their Quintet of the Hot Club of France, Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli became the first Europeans to make a significant impact on the jazz world. Reinhardt, a gypsy born in a caravan in Belgium, was raised listening and playing the rhythmically propulsive music of Eastern Europe, while Frenchman Grappelli got the jazz bug listening to American violinist Eddie South. The volatile pairing made for tense, aggressive, and always beautifully swinging music. To this day, they remain the most influential of all European jazz musicians.

Django Reinhardt was famous for his mood swings and volatile temper. As a young man, his gypsy caravan caught fire with Django inside. The fire cost him the use of two of his fingers on his left hand, forcing him to adapt his style to accommodate this handicap. Still, he was able to turn this apparent limitation into an asset, and even today, his unique guitar work remains beyond reproach and difficult to copy. Here's another photo of Django with Harry Volpe, taken during 1946 in New York City, while Django was on a Duke Ellington tour.

His wonderful partner, French violinist Stephane Grappelli, was no doubt often frustrated by Reinhardt's fiery personal demeanor and his nearly confrontational rhythmic support. But it is clear from listening to their records, that Grappelli was able to translate his frustration into musical magic - an unlikely pairing that resulted in world wide success.

Taking their name from the famous Hot Club de France (a cafe owned by the famous Jazz Discographer/writer/editor Charles Delaunay and dedicated to Hot Jazz in Paris) the group began to record under the auspices of Delaunay's 'Le Jazz Hot' Magazine. Consisting of the unique instrumentation of violin (Grapelli), lead guitar (Django), two acoustic rhythm guitars (Joseph and Roger Chaput), and double bass (Louis Vola), the Quintette brought a unique, highly swinging sound to jazz. Throughout the 1930's the group toured all over the UK and the continent. In Paris they played both society parties and jazz clubs with leading French musicians including Alix Combelle, Phillipe Brun and Andre Ekyan among others. The Quintette also recorded and jammed with virtually every visiting and ex-patriot American jazz man in Paris including Rex Stewart, Louis Armstrong, Barney Bigard, Bill Coleman, Eddie South, Joe Turner, Benny Carter and Coleman Hawkins.

Duke Ellington was amazed with Reinhardt's virtuosity on the instrument, especially considering that he only used two fingers to play as his ring finger and pinky were paralyzed when Reinhardt's caravan went up in flames with him inside. Of Django, Duke said: "Of the top 10 guitarists in the world, Django Reinhardt is in the first 5." So impressed was Duke, that he was arranging for Django to accompany his orchestra on a tour of America. World War II ended this plan, and it also brought the Quintet, in it's most famous configuration, to a grinding halt.

It was while the Quintet was playing in London that England declared war on Germany. Django left everything in his hotel room to get back to France while Stephane remained in England throughout the war. They would not record together again for another 7 years. Each had a distinctive career and each made wonderful music when separated, but they never reached the same amazing popularity that they had when they played together. Grappelly made some fantastic sides with various British jazzmen including guitarists Chappie D'Amato and Jack LLewellyn, pianist George Shearing and singer Beryl Davis among others.

Reinhardt continued leading with various bands under the title 'Hot Club de France' throughout the war, substituting clarinet for the violin and eventually dropping the second rhythm guitarist in favor of drums. In 1947 Django made an unsuccesful tour of the States with the Ellington Orchestra and stayed in New York playing dates around town until, with no work on the horizon, he returned to France.

While the original formation of the Quintet did re-unite to play at various Festivals, including the Nice Festival in 1947, they were stuck in a professional limbo. The older fans wanted to hear the original favorites while Django wanted to explore bebop, often to the consternation of the younger generation who considered him unhip, -someone to whom their parents listened. Reinhardt mastered the electric guitar and was preparing to join Norman Granz' "Jazz at the Philharmonic" on it's European tour, something he was hoping would revive his career, but he died of a stroke in May, 1953. Grappelly languished in semi-obscurity in Paris throughout the late 1950's and into the 1960's, releasing a few recordings all of which reveal an artist with an impressive improvisational technique and imaginative ideas with tremendous swing. He returned to the international scene in the early 1970's and continued touring Europe, Asia and America up until his death in 1997.
We thank Mr. Ted Gottsegen for this entry on the QHCF.