Search - Django Reinhardt :: Django on the Radio

Wow! Get Your Money's Worth Here!

mondodave | Los Angeles, Ca. United States | 06/25/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you're like me, you're always on the hunt for new Django. I've been a fiend for the man for thirty-five years, and I always come back to him. I warn you, I'm a huge fan of late Django, after his style became more modern, and I've even come to love his electric sound. As time goes on, I listen to the classic prewar Quintette less and less. That said, so many recordings have been issued and reissued over and over again, it's hard to know what you're getting. As stated, this collection is all discs cut for radio, so it hasn't been covered too much, in the past. First disc has Django playing the with Air Transport Command group in 1945, after he was the preeminent star of occupied France. Heard it before, along with his first electric recordings, with Duke Ellington in Chicago in '46. As expected, superb playing, even though his tour with Duke has been dubbed a "failure." The other discs round out his productive post war years, alternating between some acoustic and much electric usage. His sidemen include Grappelli, which sounds much like the prewar Django, and Hubert Rostaing and another clarinet player. These musicians are of lesser caliber, but it gives more room for the man to swing -- and he does, always! The last disc finds him in the fifties, playing with more modern and younger players, and Django's guitar is inspired throughout. Sound quality varies on the collection, but overall it's quite good, and the notes are insightful. Get this before it goes out of print and costs much more!"