PAUL
VERNON CHESTER
Manouche Maestro
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Manouche Maestro |
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Django - The American's in Paris
When Django was at his zenith in
the 1930s and 1940s, no one termed the music he played “Gypsy Jazz.” It was
simply jazz, played by a Gypsy with a guitar. He learned the music primarily
from recordings and only later by playing with many of the early greats — Louis
Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Duke Ellington, Eddie South. And with the music from
those foreign 78s still reverberating in his ears, he was trying to sound as
American as he possibly could. Combining his influences, his pioneering use of
the guitar, and his individual sensibility, Django created a music of his own.
There are few others who single handedly gave birth to a whole musical genre.
It’s a genre that is today continually recreated. - Paul Brady
Le Hot - Assimilation of American Jazz in France Paris reacted to jazz in the late 1920s and early 1930s. When jazz arrived in Paris, it sparked controversy because of its foreign origins. The music was associated with America and with Africa, and it raised fears among French musicians about their jobs, since American players were in demand. By the late 1920s, a group of French musicians, critics, and fans began to change how audiences thought about jazz. They argued that this music could be seen as "French," not simply as an import that threatened French culture. This process of adaptation sheds light on debates about French national identity in the interwar years by suggesting that France was not completely weakened throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Rather, many people retained an openness to new influences and a capacity to redefine their sense of national identity in the wake of World War I. A number of African-American jazz musicians took up residence in France, inspired by the relative lack of racism, the working opportunities, and the appreciation that French audiences showed for their art. Jazz greats such as Dexter Gordon, Bud Powell, Kenny Clarke, and Don Byas spent long periods of time on the European continent and made many recordings there; as well as trumpeter Bill Coleman, tenor saxophonist Lucky Thompson, avant-garde group the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and more. Paris was ready to embrace them with open arms. Montmartre became the centre of the small community, with jazz clubs such as Le Grand Duc, Chez Florence and Bricktop's thriving in Paris. World War II brought all the fanfare to an abrupt halt. The Nazi invasion of Paris in June 1940 meant suppression of the "corrupt" influence of jazz in the French capital and danger of imprisonment for African Americans choosing to remain in the city. Most Americans, black as well as white, left Paris at this time.
Django with Jack Teagarden, Grappelli and Earl Hines Many have erroneously claimed that the Hot Club of France took its original inspiration from the violin/guitar duo of Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang. But Stephane Grappelli, the violinist and co-founder of the group Hot Club of France, recalled Django saying Lang’s playing was very limited, and there was “nothing to be learned from it.” Anyone who has carefully listened to Django’s
recordings knows that his playing is very much in an intrinsic American swing
style, and deeply rooted in blues — who bends a string better than Django?
Oscar Alemán? Coleman Hawkins
Django and Coleman Hawkins Just as Reinhardt was king of the guitar, so Coleman Hawkins was considered the leader when it came to the tenor sax; and listening to the first two tracks of this collection, it’s easy to see why this should be the case. Exuberant and highly charismatic in style, Hawkins’s playing is truly unique and filled with a love for the music that seeps through every note. The accompaniment of Michel Warlop’s orchestra is likewise second to none, with Reinhardt’s frantic and daring rhythms driving the music fearlessly forward. The playfulness, inventiveness and breathtaking precision for which the guitarist became renowned are evident here in abundance. In ‘Stardust’, particularly, it is also confirmed that Reinhardt was well ahead of his time; unlike many musicians of this era, he refuses to settle for comfortable monotony, preferring instead to seek expression through constant and varied experiment.
April 1935 ~ Paris The work with Freddie Taylor, such as ‘I’se a Muggin’ doesn’t break any boundaries - and is, it could be argued, bordering on silly - its catchy melody and humorous character leave the listener with a powerful impression. And in such warm and witty numbers, Reinhardt and Grapelli show real connection, building on each other’s phrasing and themes, expertly raising the intensity level. The astonishing empathy between the two musicians - and indeed within the group as a whole - is illustrated best at the end of the tune, when they take it in turns to punctuate the chorus with a series of skilfully discordant fills that perfectly capture the mood of the piece. Frank 'Big Boy' Goudie
he grew up in New Orleans, at first playing a fiddle and then cornet. While a teenager, the musically-inclined youth played piano for silent movies. Although he taught himself tenor and clarinet, he mostly played cornet while in New Orleans. Goudie performed with Oscar Celestin's Original Tuxedo Band, the Magnolia Band, Arnold DuPas, Jack Carey and others. He toured with a minstrel show in 1921 and spent several years travelling the South and California with a variety of bands. He moved to France in 1925 where he mostly played tenor and clarinet (and just trumpet occasionally). Goudie played often and recorded with Django Reinhardt, the Gypsy guitar wizard; at times the two of them would play at a back table in some café late at night, "real soft, just for ourselves". In Europe he carried a wicker suitcase full of upholstery tools with which to augment his income and another case full of pots and pans. He left Paris shortly after the outbreak of WW2 and lived in South America during the war, playing with his own small groups there. In 1946 he moved back to France, playing there with Arthur Briggs, Harry Cooper and Coleman again (1949-51).
August 1935 ~ Ultraphone, Paris Frank 'Big Boy' Goudie multi Instrumentalist with Oscar Aleman Guitarist 1935 Floyd Smith
Floyd Smith copy of the June 1963 issue of Saga magazine with Ollie Stewart’s article. In it, Stewart recounted their meeting at Django’s house in 1944: “I introduced the two men as one guitarist to another. Then Django simply handed Floyd a guitar and took another one from the wall himself. Django gave ‘Sweet Sue’ the once-over-lightly, then Floyd took over and treated ‘Sue’ in a different key. After that he and Django both jumped on the tune and gave it a face-lifting. I’d heard Django at the Bal Tabarin, but even for all the loot they gave him, he never played like this. After a few minutes he was crooning to himself and patting his foot like mad. You knew he had found a kindred spirit. They exchanged guitars for ‘Blue Moon’ and ‘Lady Be Good,’ and took turns decking out ‘Sweet Georgia Brown.’ How long they played, I just don’t know. You don’t hold a watch on great moments. All they got out of it was satisfaction – and a nod of approval from the other guy. All I got out of it was guitar fever, and it still hasn’t gone away. When it was almost dark Floyd and I made a reluctant departure. Django came to the door, and nobody said anything but ‘So long.’ Everything else had already been said.” Floyd Smith passed away in March 1982. Rex Stewart In 1946 Rex Stewart, who had just left the Duke Ellington Band, put together a small orchestra to tour Europe as guests of the Hot Club de France. The members were:
They visited Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland making many recordings between 1946 and 1949, including one of Story’s signature tune – “Vernon’s Story” and another of his compositions, "Storyville." Their first concert was at the Salle Pleyel in Paris. They toured major cities Marseilles, Bordeauz and Toulouse, Lyons and Lille. They also played in smaller towns such as Bézier, Carcassonne and Montauban - about 45 Hot Clubs in all. Vernon Story and some of the other musicians stayed on in Paris while Rex Stewart went to Germany, though he joined him there for venues in Berlin. Story played with many of the Jazz greats in Paris, including one of his favourite musicians, guitarist Django. Story arranged venues for subsets of the original band in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo and Zurich. He also made a cameo appearance as an American Jazz player in a Swedish thriller movie. The Swedish National Jazz Archivist, Jens Lindgren, tracked Story down in 2005 and recorded details of his career. The Rex Stewart Band band, including Story, played at the first Nice Jazz Festival in Nice, France in 1948, probably the first formal International Jazz Festival. Headliners and fellow musicians that he reminisced of included family friend Louis Armstrong and English Jazz musician, broadcaster and musicologist Humphrey Lyttelton. He lectured at the Paris Conservatory in 1948
Reinhardt also played and recorded with many American jazz musicians such as Duke Ellington, Dickie Wells, Peanuts Hucko, Mel Powel, Ray MacKinley Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter, Rex Stewart (who later stayed in Paris), and a jam-session and radio performance with Louis Armstrong. Later in his career he played with Dizzy Gillespie in France. Reinhardt could neither read nor write music, and was barely literate, One of the
pre-war bass players that has played with Django Reinhardt is
the US musician Billy Taylor. He was, like so many US
musicians, active for some years in Paris. He had been an important bass player
in the US. Billy Taylor was born in Washington on the
6th of April 1906. Since 1919 you can find him as a tuba player in
several bands, like the well known McKinney’s Cotton Pickers.
In 1933 he starts to play the bass, again at a Charlie Johnson band;
in 1933 he made recordings with blues vocalist Bessie Smith. A
year later he plays with Fats Waller and during the second half
of the 1930s he is part of the Duke Ellington Orchestra. In
1939 he is part of the Duke Ellington band visiting Paris,
while on tour in Europe. During that stay in Paris they organize a recording
session with Django Reinhardt and some members of the
Duke Ellington orchestra under Rex Stewart. This recording session
takes place on the 5th of April 1939 at the Pathé studios in
Paris.
April 5, 1939 ~ Swing, Paris During this recording session trumpet player Rex Stewart, Barney Bigard on the clarinet and Billy Taylor on the bass, play with Django Reinhardt on the guitar, five tunes: Montmartre, Low Cotton, Finesse (or Night Wind in the US), I Know that You Know and Solid Old Man (= Solid Rock in the US). The well known US jazzcritic Gunther Schuller describes these four tunes in his book The Swing Era as Gems of small group jazz. He describes each tune in detail, and mentions Django as a great accompanist and soloist. These great recordings were made thanks to Hugues Panassié, one of the leaders of the Hot Club de France. He organized, that these three US musicians from the Ellington band were allowed to record. It is said that Rex Stewart was afraid that Django couldn't play the tunes, which were unknown tor him, in a correct way, but when the recordings were finished, he was a satisfied with the results.
Rex Stewart - Finesse Dickie Wells - Trombone
Bill Coleman - Trumpet
In the case of Bill Coleman’s orchestra they are utterly prepared to showcase Django's skills. ‘Big Boy’s Blues’ is a striking example; everything gradually dies down to a hush, leaving only a steady, unintrusive drumbeat to back up Reinhardt’s solo. Given full licence to follow his instincts, musical magic naturally ensues.
Thirty five piece African American orchestra formed in the United States by Will Marion Cook and George Lattimore to fill an engagement at the Philharmonic Hall, London, which opened on 4 July 1919. Although its repertoire encompassed ragtime, spirituals, and light classical music as well as jazz, its historical importance lies in bringing to Britain several major creative figures in jazz, including the clarinettist Sidney Bechet, the trumpeter Arthur Briggs, and the drummers Benton Peyton and Buddie Gilmore. In December 1919 the orchestra was reduced in size, Bechet and others moving into small jazz groups, whose performances in London dance clubs were highly influential. The orchestra toured in Scotland and the provinces with an ever shifting personnel, which increasingly recruited members of the African diaspora of British, Caribbean, and African birth, to replace the departed Americans. These included future leaders of the London jazz scene such as Cyril Blake. There were periods when more than one version of the Orchestra was touring following disagreements between the principals, which engendered lengthy litigation in the English courts. With some lay‐offs the Orchestra continued to perform through 1920 and 1921. A summer season at the Dome, Brighton, in 1921 was followed by a Glasgow engagement, after which the Orchestra sailed to Ireland on the SS Rowan, which sank off Corsewall Point on 9 October with the loss of eight members, including the Philadelphia born drummer Pete Robinson. The survivors resumed the Irish tour but disbanded in November.
Django & Louis 1946 Django & Benny 1952
Pierre Lemarchmand, James Moody, Pierre Michelot, amplified Django Reinhardt - Club Saint Germain des Pres, 1951
DJANGO & LIONEL HAMPTON
The fabulous success in February 1948 of Dizzy Gillespie’s big-band Be-bop concert at the Salle Pleyel, bristling with brass and percussion, seemed to sound the death knell of jazz for strings “without drums or trumpets”. Yet, not only did the Quintet of the Hot Club of France manage a several weeks’ engagement at the ABC Music-Hall, but Dizzy Gillespie, the Father of Bop in person, arrived in Django’s dressing-room to pay his respects and insisted on their playing together.
photo in Norman Mongan's "The History of the Guitar in Jazz" - Kessel on Django
January 25, 1945 ~
Jazz Club Français, Paris
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Eddie
South - At the time, classical positions
were not open to Black violinists in the 1920s, so South learned to play jazz
(helped out by Darnell Howard). In the early to mid-1920s, he worked in Chicago
with Jimmy Wade's Syncopators, Charles Elgar and Erskine Tate. In 1928, a visit
to Europe (where he studied at the Paris Conservatoire) made a deep impression
on the violinist, particularly Budapest; later on, he would often utilize gypsy
melodies as a basis for jazz improvising. In 1931, South returned to
Chicago, where his regular band included bassist Milt Hinton. In 1937, while in
Paris he recorded with Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. South never had
a major breakthrough commercially in his American career. Classically trained,
fluent in several styles including swing, gypsy and Latin; he favoured a warm,
lyrical sound; popular in Europe, where racial discrimination did not hinder his
style. He did work on radio and television but spent most of his life in
relative obscurity, playing in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. In later years
he recorded for Chess and Mercury, and also made a final set released by Trip.
South's other early recordings (covering 1927-41) have been reissued on a pair
of Classics CDs. One of the top violinists of the pre-bop era South was a
brilliant technician who, were it not for the universal racism of the time,
would probably have been a top classical
violinist. 
Larry Adler
