DJANGO REINHARDT – 1934-1935 | The Classics Chronological Series – 703 (1993) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This first installment in Classics' multi-volume Reinhardt series is a fine place to start your Django collection. Recorded between 1934-1935, the 23 tracks include many of first sides from the Quintet of the Hot Club of France, which Reinhardt formed with frequent cohort and violinist Stephane Grappelli. Cut for the French Ultraphone label, the material includes such top-notch QHCF sides as "I Saw Stars," "I'm Confessin'," and "Dinah." There's also a few numbers Reinhardt cut with the Michel Warlop Orchestra before teaming up with QHCF. And while JSP's Reinhardt discs often beat out many of the Classics titles for sound quality, this early offering ranks as one that stands up just fine. Stephen Cook       Tracklist :

DJANGO REINHARDT – 1935-1936 | The Classics Chronological Series – 739 (1993) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Moving on from its initial Ultraphone sides, the Quintette du Hot Club de France hit a sort of early zenith with two 1936 sessions cut for the HMV label. This volume of Classics' Chronological series features 12 sides from those May and October HMV dates, including such perennial Reinhardt and Grappelli performances as "Shine," "After You've Gone," and "Georgia on My Mind" -- Freddy Taylor, the fine Armstrong-inspired vocalist, only adds to the charm of these and a few other numbers here. The disc also finds the guitar and violin duo on two dates headed up respectively by pianist Garnet Clark and bandleader Michel Warlop (the handful of Warlop numbers also feature the great French clarinetist Alix Combelle). Topped off with some nice trumpet work by American ex-pat Bill Coleman, this Reinhardt disc qualifies as one of a handful of top-notch retrospectives of the guitarist's prime '30s output. Stephen Cook   Tracklist :

DJANGO REINHARDT – 1937 | The Classics Chronological Series – 748 (1994) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Django Reinhardt's legacy of great jazz records is so vast that some may feel intimidated by the sheer volume of material. Where to begin? What's the best? Did he ever make "bad" recordings? All of these questions quickly dissipate when the music itself starts to roll. Most of Django's music is delightful, which explains his continued popularity many years after his untimely death. It just so happens that this volume in the Reinhardt chronology is an excellent place to dive in. The year 1937 was a great one for jazz, both in the U.S. and in Europe, where this music was flourishing in a collective atmosphere of ethnic diversity not unlike that which had fueled its birth and development in the social cauldrons of Chicago, New Orleans, St. Louis, Kansas City and New York. The Parisian jazz scene positively thrived during the 1930s, with the Quintet of the Hot Club of France quickly establishing itself as the definitive Continental swing unit. By April of 1937 this group had been making records together for more than two years. Their style had fully jelled into an exacting formula suitable for interpreting jazz standards and pop songs with impeccable ease. Within a few days 20 outstanding performances were waxed, and every single side is astonishing in its freshness and lyrical invention. In addition to defining the sound of the Quintet in its prime, this volume includes two unaccompanied guitar solos -- the stunningly virtuosic "Parfum" is one of Django's all-time greatest recorded achievements -- and a pair of guitar/alto saxophone duets featuring the great Andre Ekyan. arwulf arwulf     Tracklist + Credits :

DJANGO REINHARDT – 1937, Vol. 2 | The Classics Chronological Series – 762 (1994) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This volume of the Classics Django Reinhardt chronology was expressly dedicated by the producers to the memory of Philippe Brun, a fine and forceful trumpeter whose primary inspiration was Louis Armstrong. Brun, who passed away in 1994, seems to have recorded regularly with Django and company. In addition to a fascinating version of Larry Clinton's "Whoa Babe" -- made famous among jazz fans after Lionel Hampton recorded it with Johnny Hodges and Cootie Williams in April 1937 -- Brun's two essays on the blues are honest and subtle, while his "College Stomp" is a fine example of Parisian big-band swing. The other noteworthy guest instrumentalist is violinist Michel Warlop, who appears either as a member of the Quintet of the Hot Club of France or as featured fiddler leading his own ensembles. Warlop's pleasantly looming "Taj Mahal" typifies a European's idyllic notion of a scene in "exotic" southern Asia. Anyone familiar with Fats Waller's monumental 1934 recording of Reginald Foresythe's "Serenade for a Wealthy Widow" will derive a new thrill from Warlop's equally feisty rendition. This disc also contains several unforgettable experiments by the Quintet. A marvelous "Minor Swing," with vocal exclamations and encouragements by Django, is perfectly amended by the famous "Viper's Dream." Everything recorded on December 14, 1937, has a pleasantly bracing dissonance about it, beginning with a hypnotic set of bolero variations played by a 13-piece band featuring flutist Maurice Cizeron and three violinists. But the real feature seems always to be Django Reinhardt, guitarist supreme. He is prominently featured on "St. Louis Blues" and "Bouncin' Around," accompanied only by a second guitar and string bass, and on a lovely series of duets with either bassist Louis Vola ("You Rascal You") or violinist/pianist Stéphane Grappelli. arwulf arwulf         Tracklist :

DJANGO REINHARDT – 1947-1951 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1317 (2003) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Anyone intimately familiar with Django Reinhardt's later recorded works might wonder how one CD can contain all of his recordings from late 1947 through 1951. While it is a fact that Reinhardt experienced increasing periods of unemployment after 1947 as his popularity waned, he certainly made enough records during this time period to fill more than one compact disc. The solution to this puzzle apparently involves issues of licensing, copyright, and ownership. During January and February 1949, and then again in April and May of 1950, Django Reinhardt, using small groups containing both French and Italian musicians and featuring either Stéphane Grappelli or Andre Ekyan, made a number of excellent recordings for radio broadcast purposes in Rome. Although the producers of the Classics Chronological Series usually seem able to procure the recordings necessary for a thorough survey of each artist they feature, whoever owns the rights to the Roman Reinhardt acetates either wouldn't allow them to be used by the folks at Classics, or perhaps the Italians wanted more money than the French company was willing or able to afford. In any case, there's a gap of about 18 months in this overview, but it doesn't sound that way at all because what you get is a mighty dose of late-period Django Reinhardt, and every nanosecond of music is precious and fine. The first ten tracks were recorded in Paris in late 1947 and early 1948 by a Quintet of the Hot Club of France featuring the violin and piano of Stéphane Grappelli. "Si Tu Savais" is a profound opener that feels as though it is referencing harsh realities and twists of fate. It sounds, in fact, a lot like "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" Throughout these ten selections, both the ensemble's collective creativity and Reinhardt's improvisations are dazzling. The next block of material inadvertently calls up another incongruity. The Classics label's self-imposed delineation between studio and live material is remarkably inconsistent, as plenty of live recordings have deliberately been either included or excluded from their extensive catalog. Lots of live Reinhardt didn't make it into his chronology on Classics. Here the producers went ahead and wove in a continuous live concert recording made in Brussels on December 1, 1948. Django Reinhardt and a small group featuring clarinetist Hubert Rostaing present a full range of moods and textures, including the Benny Carter/Ben Webster steamroller "Cadillac Slim" -- with thunderous Gene Krupa-styled drumming during the clarinet solo -- and a brief "Symphonie," which turns out to be a vigorous workout for Django's guitar. But speaking of the guitar, as the chronology leapfrogs over everything Django accomplished in Rome, listeners are treated to a pair of lovely Parisian unaccompanied guitar solos, including a breathtakingly gorgeous, landscape-sized six-and-a-half-minute version of "Nuages." If you are fortunate enough to get your hands on this amazing piece of work, play it back for yourself over and over again. Listen to it for hours if necessary. It might just be the greatest musical statement that Django Reinhardt ever played into a microphone. As he only had a few years remaining in his short life, it is a pity that he recorded so infrequently after 1950, because the clues he left behind clearly hint at fascinating developments in the art of guitar playing that would be realized and expounded upon by other guitarists further on down the road. arwulf arwulf        Tracklist :

STÉPHANE GRAPPELLY – 1935-1940 | The Classics Chronological Series – 708 (1993) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This Classics CD has all of the recordings made under violinist Stephane Grappelli's name during the 1935-1940 period. The earlier selections (with his Hot Four) match his violin with Django Reinhardt's guitar in what was essentially the Quintet of the Hot Club of France. There are also nine duets with Reinhardt; a couple find Grappelli switching to piano. The set concludes in 1940 with Grappelli (in London) leading an octet on two numbers that also feature the young pianist George Shearing. Scott Yanow    Tracklist + Credits :