Gypsy Jazz: In Search of Django Reinhardt and the Soul of Gypsy Swing

350 Pages·2008·2.23 MB·English

by  Michael Dregni

GYPSY JAZZ
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GYPSY JAZZ
michael dregni
In Search of Django Reinhardt
and the Soul of Gypsy Swing
S
1
2008
1
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Dregni,Michael,1961–
Gypsyjazz:insearchofDjangoReinhardtandthesoulofgypsyswing/MichaelDregni.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferences(p. ),discography(p. ),andindex.
ISBN978-0-19-531192-1
1. Jazz—France—Historyandcriticism. 2. Romanies—Music—Historyandcriticism.
3. Reinhardt,Django,1910–1953. 4. Jazzmusicians—France. I. Title.
ML3509.F7D742008 781.65089'91497—dc22 2007038061
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approvedbySyntax.
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PortionsofChapter9‘‘Dynasty’’andChapter12‘‘TheUnsungMasteroftheGypsyWaltz’’previ-
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contents
Gypsy Jazz Family Tree ix
Prologue Music in the Shadows
The Imperfect History of Gypsy Jazz 1
one The Guitar with a Human Voice
In Search of Django Reinhardt 7
two The Boy with the Banjo
Into a Zigzag Paradise 16
three Bals Musette
Music from the Dark Side of the City of Light 32
four Jazz Modernistique
Revisiting the Babylon of Gypsy Jazz 52
five Songs of One Thousand and One Nights
Django Reinhardt, Schnuckenack Reinhardt,
and Gypsy Jazz under the Nazis 78
six Gypsy Bebop
From Dizzy and Bird to Django and
the Gibson Generation 95
seven Les Guitares a` Moustache
Revolutionary Jazz Guitars for
a Jazz Revolution 114
eight Crossroads
On the Road to Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer 129
nine Dynasty
Les Fr`eres Ferret and Their Musical Clan 147
ten La Derni`ere Valse des Niglos
Saints and Sinners of the Malha Clan 178
eleven Au Son des Guitares
On the Trail of Patotte Bousquet 192
twelve The Unsung Master of the Gypsy Waltz
Tracing the Legacy of Tchan Tchou 204
thirteen The Lost
The Secret History of Lousson
Baumgartner and the ‘‘Other’’ Family 213
fourteen Minstrel
Bamboula Ferret and the Travels
of a Romani Troubadour 223
fifteen Resurrection
TheNewEleganceofBire´liLagr`ene,StocheloRosenberg,
Angelo Debarre, and Ninine Garcia 232
sixteen The Music Thieves
Into America with Danny Fender,
Johnny Guitar, John Adomono,
and Julio Bella 249
seventeen Gypsy Jazz Rap
Syntax and the Search for
‘‘Le Meilleur Chemin...’’ 267
eighteen The Most Dangerous Guitar Lesson
Jamming with David Reinhardt 278
Epilogue Latcho Drom—The Long Road 288
Notes 291
Recommended Listening 303
Recommended Reading 309
Bibliography 311
Acknowledgments 319
Index 323
viii | contents
gypsy jazz family tree
This by no means purports to be a complete list of Gypsy jazz
musicians. It’s simply a sort of dramatis personæ, an aid to tracing the
history of the music. The generations are loosely formed at best, based
on when musicians were or are making their strongest statements. I have
added musicians’ dates of birth and death when known.
Founding Generation 1920s–1950s
Jean ‘‘Poulette’’ Castro
Matte´o Garcia
Auguste ‘‘Gusti’’ Malha
Ve´tese Gue´rino (accordionist)
Jean ‘‘Django’’ Reinhardt (1910–1953)
Ste´phane Grappelli (violinist) (1908–1997)
Joseph ‘‘Nin-Nin’’ Reinhardt (1912–1982)
Jean-Joseph (aka Pierre) ‘‘Baro’’ Ferret (1908–1976)
E´tienne ‘‘Sarane’’ Ferret (1912–1970)
Jean (aka Pierre) ‘‘Matelo’’ Ferret (1918–1989)
Charles-Allain (aka Rene´ and Auguste) ‘‘Challain’’ Ferret (1914–1996)
Euge`ne Ve´es (1915–1977)
Louis ‘‘Vivian’’ Villerstein (violinist)
Henri Crolla (1920–1960)
Marcel Bianchi (1911–1997)
Joseph Sollero
Joseph Gustave ‘‘Tatave’’ Viseur (accordionist)