Django: The Life and Music of a Gypsy Legend
by Michael Dregni
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Book Summary Information
Author: Michael DregniBrand: Sonnox
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-11-01
ISBN: 019516752X
Number of pages: 326
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Book Reviews of Django: The Life and Music of a Gypsy Legend
Book Review: A book long overdue
Summary: 5 Stars
In this book, Michael Dregni has done a wonderful job of putting the pieces together to tell the story of one of jazz history's most enigmatic, influential and inspired musicians. Usually, a critical look at a musician has to contend only with the prejudice and exaggeration of hearsay and legend, but in this book Dregni has also been confronted by the culture of shadows and secrets inhabited by the gipsies of Europe, no doubt making the process of connecting the dots of Django Reinhardt's story much more difficult. Gladly, he has done a marvelous job. The evocative prose succeeds in painting a picture not just of a life but of a time and place, equal parts romantic and real, that leaves the reader with an appreciation of what a truly remarkable man Django Reinhardt was and what a truly remarkable time it was in which he lived. Occasionally the book reminded me of a Jeunet film, an amber-hued voyage through a funhouse of dark corners, gypsy gangsters and cobblestones, all to the strains of an accordion heard through the rough doors of a bal-musette. Placed squarely in the the middle of such a milieu, Django emerges as a complex genius, his flights of musical inspiration bound by vanity and his artistic sophistication tempered by a childlike impetuousness and naivete'. Dregni thankfully does not allow his subject to dodge the dimmer aspects of the spotlight, painting a very human portrait of a man equally unreliable, duplicitous and vain yet devoted, sentimental and generous. Full flight is also given to Django's etherial magic-trick genius which resulted in, at times, perfect examples of inspired expression within the worldly context of a high art. There are many important reasons for Django Reinhardt's enormous influence on music (and jazz in particular), likewise for the legends and stories that surround both him and his surviving legacy, and I feel that this book does a wonderful job putting them into context for us. What an enjoyable and inspiring read.
Summary of Django: The Life and Music of a Gypsy Legend
Django Reinhardt was arguably the greatest guitarist who ever lived, an important influence on Les Paul, Charlie Christian, B.B. King, Jerry Garcia, Chet Atkins, and many others. Yet there is no major biography of Reinhardt.Now, in Django, Michael Dregni offers a definitive portrait of this great guitarist. Handsome, charismatic, childlike, and unpredictable, Reinhardt was a character out of a picaresque novel. Born in a gypsy caravan at a crossroads in Belgium, he was almost killed in a freak fire that burned half of his body and left his left hand twisted into a claw. But with this maimed left hand flying over the frets and his right hand plucking at dizzying speed, Django became Europe's most famous jazz musician, commanding exorbitant fees--and spending the money as fast as he made it. Dregni not only chronicles this remarkably colorful life--including a fascinating account of gypsy culture--but he also sheds much light on Django's musicianship. He examines his long musical partnership with violinist St�phane Grappelli--the one suave and smooth, the other sharper and more dissonant--and he traces the evolution of their novel string jazz ensemble, Quintette du Hot Club de France. Indeed, the author spotlights Django's amazing musical diversity, describing his swing-styled Nouveau Quintette, his big band Django's Music, and his later bebop ensemble, as well as his many compositions, including symphonic pieces influenced by Ravel and Debussy and his unfinished organ mass inspired by Bach. And along the way, the author offers vivid snapshots of the jazz scene in Paris--colorful portraits of Josephine Baker, Bricktop, Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, and countless others--and of Django's vagabond wanderings around France, Europe, and the United States, where he toured with Duke Ellington.
Capturing the extraordinary life and times of one of the great musicians of the twentieth century, Django is a must-read portrait of a true original.
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