Conference napalm::guitar

    
    	Being from a gypsy family, D'Jango was very poor and had only
    one suit to play in. During the rainy season, when he went out to
    play, he would have his wife carry him and his guitar on her shoulders
    through the mud so he wouldn't get his one and only suit dirty.
                
    -Bruce

    Django was missing some fingers, if my memory serves me correctly.
    I believe he may have had only two fingers on his left hand, that is,
    he had lost the ring and little finger. I may be wrong about which
    fingers he was missing. In any case, the fact that he was able to
    overcome this obstacle and play as brilliantly as he did should serve
    as an inspiration to us ten-fingered fools.
    
    - Ram

    Mostly right, Ram.  His left hand was badly burned leaving the ring
    and little fingers almost useless.  He reportedly used them in a
    limited way in chording, but played all his melodic stuff with just
    the other two fingers.  His fast chromatic scales were usually done 
    with a gliss, but he could also blaze through diatonic passages
    with two fingers.  It's amazing to think that his musicality didn't
    seem to suffer at all from the handicap.
    
    Bob

    There was a rumor awhile back that some of the Quintet D'Hot Club
    recordings were going to be digitally edited (remove the scratches
    and noise using digital techniques) and released on CD.
    
    I've looked for them but haven't seen any yet.  Has anyone else
    heard of or seen these?
    
    	db

    
    	I've got some of his (this?) stuff on vinyl...
    
    	Joe Jas
    

    
    	I heard that D'Jango was illiterate and had no idea whatsoever 
    about how to look after his money. Apparently his manager saved
    some money for him and purchased a little cottage by a lake in France,
    where D'Jango lived in his later years. I heard he died of a heart
    attack while sitting on his dock fishing. A very peacefull way to
    go, I would think.
    
    -Bruce
     

    Call me nitpicky, but isn't it "Django" with a silent D?
    
    Bob

    Not nitpicky at all--It is spelled Django, and pronounces Jhehngo.
    
    Since Django Reinhardt was a major innovator of a stature shared
    only with Charlie Christian and  Wes Montgomery, I wonder if the
    originator of this note or The Moderator could correct the title?
    
    There have been few players who have even tried to capture Django's
    style. His brother, cousin and uncle still perform his music in
    Europe.
    
    Birelli Lagrene started as a disciple of Django's. His first recording,
    "Routes To Django" is astonishing, especially since he recorded
    it at age 13! A followup is equally good. Birelli has applied his
    considerable talents to Fusion these days, with predictably boring
    results. I hope he will continue to record some Django style material,
    since virtually no one else has ever come close to producing the
    combination of Gypsy fire, melodic and harmonic invention and sheer
    beauty that Django had.
    
    Django mostly played Maccaferri guitars, which were produced by Selmer.
   A cross between a flattop and archtop,  original ones had a large
    D-shaped soundhole, which became a smaller,oval hole after Maccaferri
    split from Selmer in the early 30's. A number of luthiers are now
    making this style of guitar. There is a well-known photo of Django
    with a Gretsch, but it was borrowed for a visit to the US and does
    not appear on most of his recordings.
    
    Danny W.

    The brother who plays lead used to play in a Django sorta style,
    though some of the recordings are just sappy, sentimental and boring.
    I have the Maria Elena album which is pretty good, and two others
    which are just sappy, etc.  I always thought this guy could be great,
    in the right context.
    
    Bob

    I have a CD called "Pour Django" which features duets by the cousin
    and uncle, or brother and cousin, or...
    
    Anyway, the music is not at all like Django's, and is just plain
    boring, something Django would never tolerate.
    
    Danny W.

    
    re: .7, .8
    
    Sorry about the misspelling. It was an asumption on my part.
    Since I don't know how to change the title, maybe we could get
    our gracious moderator to do it,eh ?
    Apologies,
    
    -Bruce

    	I was driving somewhere with a friend, when he said "I want
    you to hear something," and popped a Django cassette into the tape
    deck.  The first cut was "Dinah," and we're lucky we're not both
    dead -- I almost drove through instead of around the next curve.
    
    	I can appreciate Django's ability without ever even entertaining
    the thought of being able to duplicate it, but maybe -- just maybe
    -- if I practice every day for the rest of my life, I *might* be able
    to play rhythm like one of the brothers, and that would be plenty
    good enough for me.