Does Django quote melodies of his era we don't recognize?

vince

Hi All,

I've been thinking... does Django quote melodies from his era that we don't recognize because they're quite old, but people of his era would instantly recognize? It seems there could be lots of melodies from musettes he used to perform that he could add to jazz improvisations and they would sound completely novel. I'm still amazed by how little Django seems to repeat licks (maybe, er, likely, I need to listen to more recordings, more carefully).

Elliot

Jeez, Bob Marley quotes melodies of his era we don't recognize...anyone for Calypso?

redblues

Calypso fan here, check out the Mighty Sparrow doing Dan is the Man in the Van

Svanis1337

He certainly did! Apart from "El Manisero" (Peanut Vendor) which he quotes countless times, other examples include Chopin's "Funeral March" in his "Blues en Mineur" from 1947, and his own composition "Babik" is quoted by Django in his 1948 recording of "Daphné", which goes on for 4.39! Manoir De Mes Rêves from the same session goes on for 4.30. The reason for this is that they're radio broadcasts (from Radiodiffusion-Television Française) and were transferred to acetates before being released sometime after LP's became available. You just can't fit that much onto a normal 78rpm disc.

I suppose he quoted way more on radio broadcasts than recordings, since there were no penalties for "borrowing" or "quoting" themes from other copyrighted songs. They could also go on for an extended period of time and gave Django and his associates more creative freedom. A mistake on a radio broadcast didn't cost them a dime, but a mistake on a recording and they could be forced to do another take, and it wasn't free, you know. So they were more restricted and careful on normal 78rpm recordings.

Mitch

he often quoted "La tonkinoise" when he was out of inspiration or when something was wrong in the accompaniment !

Django's Dream (Debussy's "Reverie") intro is a quote from "Prélude à l'après-midi d'un Faune" by the same Debussy.

The theme of "Danse nuptiale / moppin' the bride" is an adaptation from la "marche nuptiale"

These are a few examples that came to my mind.

Also the intro of "When day is done" is a quote from Maria Elena (not sure about this one but it is a quote...)

Django quotes "Chicken reel" in his 1949 "NIght and day" rendition and his own "Anouman" in "Troublant Bolero"...

etc..etc.. !

kevingcox

No no, you are all giving examples of the ones we recognize; Vince wants examples of ones we DON'T recognize.

Geez, read the question, fellas!

:P :P :P

bryanology

interesting topic. I believe the slightly funky lick Django plays on "After you've gone", during the break on his solo, is from an old French musical. I'll have to do some homework on that.

klaatu

So, help me understand this. If we didn't recognize them, how would we know if he was doing it?

Jazzaferri

I'm with you klaatu. How do you know something you don't know.

As the man said its not the stuff that you know you don't know that gets ya it's the stuff you don't know you don't know.

Teddy Dupont

Mostly Django quotes melodies from Django.

klaatu

Jazzaferri wrote:

I'm with you klaatu. How do you know something you don't know.

As the man said its not the stuff that you know you don't know that gets ya it's the stuff you don't know you don't know.

OMG! Donald Rumsfeld on Djangobooks!