Django's UK Itinerary 1938
- Aged 28
The HCQ recording at the Decca studios, London January 1938.
Roger Chaput, Naguine, Django, Eugène Vées, Stéphane Grappelli, Louis Vola -
January 31, 1938 ~ Decca, London
Django Reinhardt and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France
with Stéphane Grappelli
Stéphane Grappelli (v); Djanqo Reinhardt (g solo); Roger Chaput, Eugène Vées
(g); Louis Vola (b)
Honeysuckle Rose, Sweet Georgia
Brown, Night And Day, My Sweet, Souvenirs, Daphne, Black And White,
Stompin' At Decca
Stephane Grappelli, Eugene "Ninnie" Vees, Django Reinhardt, Joseph
"Nin-Nin" Reinhardt, Roger Grasset
Chaput and Vola are also mentioned as present for these dates?
- The HCQ has its first performance in the UK at the
Cambridge Theatre,
Earlham Street, London WC2 9HQ on 30th January.(2.30pm)
This concert was
organised by the "Melody Maker" and also had an unknown George Shearing in Clive Bampton's Blind Band. The HCQ was a major success
which prompted Lew Grade to
organise a UK tour later the same year.
The concert was a sell-out. Django spent his days in bed in
his hotel (Not equipped for English Weather), varying this a bit with visits to
a local amusement arcade where he won packet after packet of cigarettes with his
usual ease. The band returned to France, and in February 1939 toured
Scandinavia which involved travelling through Germany.
Britain's Leading Radio Station was the Light Programme - 1938
Stephane Grappelli, Eugene "Ninnie" Vees, Django Reinhardt, Joseph "Nin-Nin"
Reinhardt, Roger 'Toto' Grasset Bass
Front cover of the Cambridge Theatre
concert organised by the "Melody Maker" (1938).
The left picture is the Cambridge Theatre when it was first built in 1930.
It would have been exactly the same when Django played there.
Jazz Hot (Filmed in Great Britain /
1938)
The story has it that Django Reinhardt was never filmed with synchronized sound
and picture (only a few silent images could be seen very quickly in the
newsreels…) This film, unknown to the historians, is a great event : we
can see Django Reinhardt, the master of the guitar, playing in his intimacy or
on stage, with Stéphane Grappelli and other musicians during the top level
period of the Hot Club de France Quintet, around 1938.
- It is described in Volume 8 of Frémaux &
Associés (Intégrale Django Reinhardt).
- Exact context of this movie is unknown. It
could have been filmed as a promotional movie for an upcoming QHCF UK tour.
- The bass player is unknown.
- According to Charles Delaunay there was 2
other songs in this movie.
April 22, 1938 ~ Broadcast for
the BBC, from Paris
Django Reinhardt and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France
with Stéphane Grappelli
Stéphane Grappelli (v); Django Reinhardt (g solo); Joseph Reinhardt, Eugène Vées
(g); Roger Grasset (b)
Daphne, Djangology
10th July:
The Gig Club, Bourne Hall,
Wood Green
where Django gave a
'cup' to the winner of a Quintet competition. Now could this have been the
Wood Green Jazz Club
at the then 'Fishmongers’ Arms' - run by Viv and Art Sanders.
287 High Rd, Wood Green, London, N22 8HU
now converted to a block of flats.
I worked at Wood Green Jazz Club from about 1962 to
1968-ish.
I helped Viv and Art run the club, cleaned up, picked up glasses, repaired their
car and hopefully advised on bands and helped with bookings. I know I am a bit
later than the period you are looking for but it was a fantastic club and
allegedly the oldest 'hot rhythm' club in the UK, with posters advertising
appearances by Django Reinhardt and many others.
- John Cox
The
building is still there and the tiled facade at the bottom and the general
exterior seems to have been preserved, including the name Fishmongers Arms at
the top of the building. Much of the ground floor is now occupied by Police
Station offices, and as one of our correspondents says, the rest of the building
has been turned into flats accessed by a small door to the far left.
Tony Milliner remembers the two doors to the left of the building being those
the bands used to take in their gear, and to go into Bourne Hall. Bourne Hall
was part of the Fishmongers Arms, but a separate room at the back of the
building, says Tony. Our second picture shows that something was once attached
to the side but has since been removed to build new houses. Trumpeter
Bunny Austin - The Bourne Hall was a wooden hall attached to the
Fishmongers Arms. The Fishmongers pub was on the corner of Trinity Road and Wood
Green High Road. This hall became the Wood Green Jazz Club run by Art and Vi
Sanders circa 1947-8, but the Bourne Hall was used as a local dance hall during
the 1920s. I know this is correct because in 1950 I played in a band with
pianist Les Stanford, born in 1902, and Les told me he played in the Bourne Hall
during the 1920s and 30s. The Bourne Hall became a favourite venue for the first
Alex Welch band, but before he played there Art Sanders booked the Dutch Swing
College band about 1949 and Joe Daniels jazz band around 1951 with Dave
Shepherd, Alan Wickham, Nevil Skrimshaw, etc.
With regards to the the Django presentation at the Gig Club, maybe this could
have been put on by members of the musicians union North London branch? I was in
the MU in 1959 and we used to have meetings over at Bush Hill Park, not far from
Wood Green. Lots of the members then were of pre-WW2 vintage and I'm sure they
would have been keen to meet Django. Clarinettist Alvin Roy recalls:-
Bourne Hall was indeed where Wood Green Jazz Club was situated. Bourne Hall
was attached to the Fishmongers Arms and as you entered the doorway, you turned
left and walked a short distance down a corridor to enter the club. If you
turned right you went into the pub, which had its main entrance facing the High
Road (Green Lanes). Art Sanders was usually stationed in the corridor at the
entrance of the club ready to have a friendly chat as he took your money. The
Fishmongers is still there, but Bourne Hall is now flats and part of our
youthful memories has gone ... sad but inevitable. Mike Durell
agrees: Regarding Bourne Hall and Wood Green, it was part of the
Fishmongers Arms pub (at the rear of the pub). I played there many times.
Richard White also writes from south-east Asia: - I am writing in response to
your query about the "Bourne Hall" in the Wood Green area. I am writing from
south-east Asia and so do not have access to any written records, but I was a
denizen of Wood Green Jazz Club and the Fishmongers Arms from approximately
1960 to 1970. For a few years I had a flat within walking distance and I am
sure that I can recall the name of the hall behind the "Fish" being Bourne Hall.
I was sorry to read that it is now a block of flats. I have so many more than
fond memories of Art and Viv and all the great bands and musicians I saw at
Wood Green Jazz Club. Tony Milliner also remembers a notice put up for a gig
with the Alex Welch band featuring George Melly. It advertised: 'Belch and
Belly'!
(Django Circa 1938)
Django @ Bourne
Hall Information provided in collaboration with contributors to
Sandy
Brown Jazz
11th July: Empire Theatre, Wood Green for a week.
The Wood Green Empire had been opened by impresario Oswald Stoll on 9
September 1912, with a capacity of 1840 and a stage 54’ wide by 37’ deep.
It was
on this very stage, in March 1918, that the ‘Chinese’ magician Chung Ling Soo
(real name William Robinson) received a fatal injury while performing his (in)famous
trick of catching a bullet between his teeth.
Now that would have spooked our Django
18th
July: Trocadero, Elephant & Castle
for a week. Interior below.
Buddy Holly also performed there with the Crickets 10 years on 1/03/58
The auditorium was designed in a magnificent ornate French Renaissance
style, with colours of soft chocolate and old rose, with features being
emphasised in gilt. The side walls had a series of draped alcoves which were
curved inwards to meet the ceiling and interspersed with Roman eagles displaying
outstretched wings. The ceiling had a large circular dome, illuminated in dark
turquoise and surrounded by a ring of large octagonal medallions. Seating was
provided on stalls and circle levels. There was a large fully equipped stage,
with dressing rooms and the cinema was equipped with a Wurlitzer 4Manual/21Rank
organ which was opened by Quentin Maclean.
The opening night was almost a disaster, as the crowd assembled outside the
building, London was experiencing a dense black London 'pea-super' fog. As the
3,500 capacity audience entered via the the theaters two entrances, in rolled
the fog, filling the auditorium, which made seeing the screen virtually
impossible except for those sitting in the front rows of the stalls. Even the
operator in the projection box had difficulties and was supplied with field
glasses. Towards the end of the evening the fog cleared.
25th July: Empire Theatre, Shepherd's Bush for a
week.
I
promised you a Django anecdote -
way back in 1938, my Dad, Frank Selwyn, lived in Ilford and Django was due to
appear at the Shepherds Bush Empire. My Dad was 13 at the time. He and
his cousins only had enough money either for the fare across London or to get in
and see Django. So they walked 12 miles from Ilford - paid to see Django - and
then walked back again. It was a story told and retold in my family and Django
had a major influence in my formative years. Best wishes, Esmond Selwyn - Guitarist
Esmond
Selwyn has long been
recognized as one of the UK's greatest performing jazz guitarists and jazz
educators. With a list of reviews and credits almost too numerous to mention,
the quality of his playing has been formally acknowledged by some of the world's
greatest jazz musicians.
After Esmond had played a set at Ronnie Scott's
Club with Bill le Sage he was to receive a most memorable accolade from
legendary Miles Davis tenor sax sideman, George Coleman "You sound great,
boy!" From Tony Mottola, Frank Sinatra's guitarist, a personal letter
reads "You have great chops! (technique) My pleasure these days comes from
listening to great jazz guitarists such as yourself.."
In his monumental work, "The Great Jazz Guitarists", Ivor Mairants writes "...Esmond
has, in my opinion, a fingerboard technique second to none..."
Trained with Chuck Wayne.
This very much influenced
his legato flowing technique along with close study of Parker and Coltrane.
Esmond has shared the bill at international jazz festivals with Chick Corea,
Elvin Jones, Charlie Byrd and has accompanied visiting American stars, Art
Farmer, Redd Rodney, Bobby Shew, Al Cohn and Jimmy Witherspoon
:
8th August
Metropolitan Theatre, London for a week. Probably Edgware Road - since demolished for the A40 flyover
which was opened bizarrely by Jayne Mansfield.
15th August: Empire Theatre, Glasgow for a week
Duke Ellington Orchestra were in Glasgow
(June 1933). At the first matinee they started up with 'Three Little Words',
and Ivy Anderson sang 'Stormy Weather'. Glasgow was recognised as a
centre for hot jazz, and a good starting place for tours,
The Glasgow Empire Theatre was built on
the site of the earlier 1874 Gaiety Theatre which was demolished to make way for
the Empire in 1897. The Empire Palace Theatre, as it was first known, was
built at the corner of West Nile Street and Sauchiehall Street. The Theatre
opened in 11897 and had a seating capacity of 1,676 with 182 standing. The
Empire closed in 1930 for major alterations when it was enlarged and refurbished
and the auditorium was radically altered. The Theatre was also extended to the
corner of Renfield Street and its reopening was in 1931. The Theatre
closed at the end of March 1963 and was subsequently demolished.
22nd August: New Empress Theatre,
Brixton for a week.
Opened on Boxing Day, 1898, this impressive theatre/music hall
stood on the corner of Brighton Terrace and Bernay's Grove, offering
popular Variety
shows (and pantomimes at Christmas). A sizeable venue, the Empress Theatre
offered seating capacity of 1,260 with a stage width of 60' and a depth of 40'.
In 1909 Bioscope described the Empress as 'one of the finest of London's
suburban music halls'. Over the years, the building would be variously described
as the Empress Theatre, Empress Theatre of Varieties, Empress Music Hall and
Granada Cinema. The theatre was demolished
and replaced with a housing development in 1992
30th August: Decca Studios,
165 Broadhurst
Gardens, West Hampstead, London.
This building is now a rehearsal space for English National Opera.
From 1920 until 1980, however, it was owned by Decca Records and used as a
recording studio by orchestras, West End shows and the big bands that provided
the pop music of the day. Nothing remains of the recording equipment, but the
internal layout of the building is still intact. Two large halls dominate
the interior, and down the back stairs, at the end of a low corridor, stands the
heavy, soundproofed door that still bears its nameplate from the Decca days:
Studio Two.
PAUL
VERNON CHESTER
