ist Jean Vaissade for the Ideal Company. Since Django could not read or write, his name was spelled: “Jiango Renard” on these records.
The Caravan Fire
Django married young, as was the custom, to Naguine, another Manouche tribe member. On November 2nd, 1928 at one o’clock in the morning, the 18 year old Django returned to his caravan from a night of playing music at a new club “La Java”. Naguine was pregnant with their 1st child and asleep inside. The caravan was filled with celluloid flowers his wife had made to sell at the market. The highly flammable celluloid flowers caught fire by a candle accident. Django wrapped himself in a blanket to shield him from the flames. Somehow he and his wife made it across the blazing room to safety outside, but his left hand and his right side from knee to waist were badly burned. His fret hand was so badly burned that he only retained use of his forefinger and middle finger. The rest were useless.
Django was bedridden for 18 months. With great determination Django recreated a way to use the two functioning fingers on his left hand. The affected fingers were permanently curled towards the palm due to the tendons shrinking from the heat of the fire. He could use them on the first two strings of the guitar for chords and octaves but full extension was impossible.
Django, like Oscar Aleman, was exposed to recordings of Eddie Lang and Joe Venuti, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. By reinterpreting the American jazz and combining it with the wealth of Gypsy tradition and current dance hall influences, Django elevated Jazz Manouche to a wildly popular new dance music form.
In 1934 Django met a classically trained violin player who was equally enamored with the work of Eddie Lange and Joe Venuti: Stephane Grapelli. This was what Django had been looking for and together they assembled The Quintet of the Hot Club of France. The original lineup was Django (lead guitar), Stéphane (violin), Roger Chaput (rhythm guitar), Louis Vola (bass) and Django’s brother Joseph (rhythm guitar). Ultraphone was the first to record the group including: ‘Dinah’, ‘Tiger Rag’, ‘Oh Lady be Good’, and ‘I Saw Stars’. The records were a hit. The Quintet went on to record many more and found success on both sides of the ocean.
Jazz Manouche groups generally consisted of a lead guitar, violin, two rhythm guitars and bass. The rhythm guitars supply the percussive rhythm called la pompe, which, in conjunction with strongly syncopated bass lines make a percussion section redundant. The 2 rhythm guitars were necessary in the early 1930’s as there was no amplification available and dance halls were large and noisy. The use of Selmer guitars designed with Mario Maccaferri made it possible to generate the raw power needed to fill the hall with rhythmic drive. The solo guitar was also a Maccaferri design and had the loud cutting power to be heard over the rest of the band. Extended improvised solos on guitar and/or violin (and occasionally clarinet and accordion) were the norm. Reinhardt’s dusky, chromatic sound, with its melancholy undertones and swing articulation gave even light-weight songs weight and drive. His improvisations included ornamented arpeggios that were firmly anchored in rhythmic structures.
The second World War broke out in 1939 while the Quintet touring in England. Django returned to Paris while Stéphane remained in England. Django played and recorded throughout the war years substituting Hubert Rostaing’s clarinet for Stephen’s violin. His talent and willingness to remain outside the politics of war somehow allowed him to continue in Paris during the occupation. After the war he rejoined Stéphane and again played and recorded. He toured briefly with Duke Ellington in America and returned to Paris where he continued his career until 1951 when he retired to the small village of Samois Sur Seine. On May 16th 1953 Django suffered a massive stroke while chatting with friends at a local café. He died leaving behind his wife Sophie (Naguine) and son Babik.
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