Gypsy swing
When Django Reinhardt died at Fontainebleau, near Paris, on
May 16, 1953, he left behind not only a rich treasure trove of countless
recordings. but also a special style – a way of playing the guitar and jazz
which only in later generations became known as “Gypsy Swing.”
In Paris at the beginning of the 1930s, Reinhardt and his
congenial partner, the violinist Stephane Grappelli, made the only considerable
European contribution to the development of jazz. Even beyond the total
framework which they created, both musicians came to be regarded as the
quintessential representatives of their instruments – Grappelli of the violin,
and Reinhardt of the guitar – and this reputation endures up to the present
day.
Gypsy Swing is genuine European jazz and probably the only
style which has not originated in the motherland of jazz, the United States of
America. All previous styles (New Orleans, Chicago/Dixieland, Swing) and all
later forms (Bebop, Hardbop, Cool, Free, etc.) started out from America to
conquer the world. The “Quintet du Hot Club de France” originally consisted of
stringed instruments only. Besides the two main protagonists Grappelli and
Reinhardt, two rhythm) guitarists and a double-bass player formed part of the
group. They played the jazz hits of the day as well as their own very
expressive pieces, all of which have become an integral part of the great Gypsy
Swing songbook. This start-up formation of three guitars, double-bass, and
violin was soon to undergo various and successful changes. Reinhardt, and
Grapelli would later link up with percussionists, pianists, saxophonists,
clarinetists, and others.
After Reinhardt’s death the original formula was further
complemented, changed and enlarged. It was above all the gypsies of central
Europe who adapted Grapelli’s and Reinhardt’s style to their own tradition, and
thus combined the existing forms
with the music of eastern Europe: Musette and Swing Valse. During the 1980s and
1990s another musical colour was added when elements of Samba and Bossa were
incorporated into Gypsy Swing.
The group “Harmonious Wail” is, for the time being, the last
representative of a long and colourful tradition. As the Americans would say:
“It’s all there” – pieces from the Great American Songbook which were already
played by Grappelli and Reinhardt (After You’ve Gone, Limehouse Blues, Sheik of
Araby), music with eastern European roots (Dark Eyes, Czardas von Monti, Two
Guitars), Musette and Swing Valse (Swing Gitan, Valse Samois), with Minor Swing
possibly the most well-known Gypsy Swing standard, and with Ball Game a title
from the American folk tradition as yet another broadening of style. Maggie
Delaney and Sims Potthoff-Delaney have long been combining Gypsy Swing and the
expressive means of Bluegrass with great success.
Harmonious Wail have succeeded in enriching Gypsy Swing with
their virtuosity and originality. The sound of the group is immediately
recognizable and in its own genre it is absolutely unique. It demonstrates that
Reinhardt’s and Grappelli’s Swing remains alive in ever new forms of
expression. Harmonious Wail is the best example of this renewal. Enjoy!
Bernhard Gierstl
www.hotclubnews.de
