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The Essential Django Reinhardt

Django Reinhardt
2 discs

0. DISC 1:
1. Minor Swing
2. Beyond the Sea
3. World is Waiting For the Sunrise, The
4. Django Castle (Manoir De Mes Rves)
5. Dream of You
6. Mnilmontant
7. It's Only a Paper Moon
8. I Saw Stars
9. Nuages
10. Swing Guitars
11. All the Things You Are
12. Tisket a Tasket, A
13. September Song
14. Heavy Artillery (Artillerie Lourde)
15. Improvisation On Tchakowsky's "Pathtique" Andante
16. Djangology
17. Where Are You My Love? (Ou-Es-Tu Mon Amour?)
18. Russian Songs Medley
0. DISC 2:
1. Daphne
2. I'll Never Be the Same
3. Marie
4. Jersey Bounce
5. I Surrender Dear
6. Halleluyah
7. Anniversary Song
8. After You've Gone
9. Swing 42
10. Stormy Weather
11. Brick Top
12. Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be)
13. I Got Rhythm
14. Honeysuckle Rose
15. Saint-Louis Blues
16. Sophisticated Lady
17. Darktown Strutter's Ball
18. Royal Garden Blues
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Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 83737
Credits

Producer Jean-Paul Guiter
Engineer
Liner Note Author: Michael Dregni.
Recording information: Rome (01/1949-05/1950).
Photographers: William Gottlieb; Mary Evans; Michael Dregni.
Considering that Django Reinhardt recorded prolifically in the quarter-century between 1928 and 1953, it might a bit presumptuous to title this collection The Essential Django Reinhardt. For this two-CD, 36-track anthology is drawn entirely from recordings made in Rome in 1949 and 1950. That's a relatively narrow time frame of work from a musician acknowledged as one of the masters of jazz guitar, and indeed one of the most influential guitarists of all time. It's fair enough to concede that this certainly comprises some of the essential recordings he laid down, however, and that listened to with or without comparison to his entire oeuvre, they're very good. About two-thirds of them were cut in January and February 1949 as part of the quintet also featuring his famed collaborator Stphane Grappelli on violin. The others were made in April and May of 1950 as part of an entirely different, violin-less quintet, Andr Ekyan playing alto sax and clarinet, two instruments not heard on the 1949 tracks. Regardless of the context, Reinhardt's playing is excellent and the bands sympathetic, the guitarist showing himself capable of adapting to changing times in jazz with arrangements that swing, but in a more modern way than his earlier efforts. A good number of his own compositions (some written with Grappelli) are included, along with some popular standards and jazz classics by the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, and Fats Waller. Some material goes beyond these boundaries, such as a "Russian Songs Medley," an improvisation on a Tchaikovsky piece, and W.C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues." Reinhardt actually cut about three times as much as material from these sessions, but for those who just want a manageable slice of quality work from the period, it's a fine compilation. This reissue, incidentally, was originally produced in 1983, and previously released as The Indispensable Django Reinhardt (1949-1950). ~ Richie Unterberger