The secret of Django's Bridge

Svanis1337

On the DVD "Symphonic Django", (Which is a must have) Jon Larsen visits Alain Antonietto. Alain shows Jon Django's Busato. It has the same piece of paper under the bridge like Django's Selmer #503 in the later photographs taken of him. Alain tells us that it's actually a card from a scale. On the streets or other public areas you could find scales. You put in a coin and it gave you your weight. So it was actually a card from one of those scales with Django's weight on it. (Around 70kg, he couldn't remember exactly.)

Django's Busato was given to Alain in 1956 by Django's sister Sara. She told him Django composed "Anouman" on the Busato, and that Django composed "Nuages" before the war, and Stéphane heard him play it.

When Django's other sister Carmen died, instead of burning all her possessions, two mustached gypsies said that this time they'll just give everything to Alain. So he recieved I think 2 guitars and 3 violins or something like that and all of her private records and such that she had recorded during her life.

Laurie Henshaw said in 1948 that the piece of paper Django stuck under the bridge of the #503 in 1946/1947 looked like a Matchbox cover. Others have suggested it might have been a Metro Ticket. Django stuck it under the bridge in 1946/1947. Possibly earlier during the war. Perhaps. But it's plausible that the piece of paper under the bridge of the #503 was also a weight card, like the one found on his Busato.

The piece of paper in 1947 at Salle Pleyel (Look very closely), 1948 in the UK, 1951 at Club St-Germain Des Prés and 1953 at his home in Samois

Teddy Dupont

Svanis1337 wrote:

Laurie Henshaw said in 1948 that the piece of paper Django stuck under the bridge of the #503 in 1946/1947 looked like a Matchbox cover. Others have suggested it might have been a Metro Ticket. Django stuck it under the bridge in 1946/1947. Possibly earlier during the war. Perhaps. But it's plausible that the piece of paper under the bridge of the #503 was also a weight card, like the one found on his Busato.

Laurie Henshaw said the Selmer had matchbox covers under the bridge in 1948 and he had been told by Sam Adams that matchbox covers where also there in 1946. Henshaw wrote this soon after interviewing Django in 1948 and Adams saw and wrote about the Quintet recording in London in 1946 so I am sure these statements are absolutely correct. All the other claims are a bit suspect.

In the same interview, Django said he had only one guitar which he had had for 10 years so I have never quite understood where the Busato fits in. I think he actually got that Selmer in 1940 but his arithmetic may well have been a bit suspect :roll: .

Teddy Dupont

........all the UK people who wrote about the Selmer around this time said it looked a bit of a battered wreck. In fact, Alan Hodgkiss who played the guitar, described it as "...this shabby, grubby amalgam of wood and wires" and his wife called it "that old guitar". Goodness knows what it was like by 1953.

Svanis1337

It sounded like an ordinary guitar when others tried it. When Django played it, it had this wonderful tone and nobody could quite understand how he did it...

I think the only explanation is that there was a matchbox cover under the #503 and a Ticket under the Busato and he got the Busato after 1948. Maybe while he was in Rome. Who knows? Not even Alain.

Alain is a fine collector just like you. It must've been a real pleasure to meet him. I know Patrus tagged along too. He's not bad. I won a shirt from him for free! Right after helping him with some videos. I lucked out, but I swear I won it fair and square and he didn't willingly cheat and draw my name out of his hat.

Teddy Dupont

Svanis1337 wrote:

It sounded like an ordinary guitar when others tried it. When Django played it, it had this wonderful tone and nobody could quite understand how he did it...

There is no doubt Django was one of those rare people who could make any guitar sound good.

Svanis1337 wrote:

I think the only explanation is that there was a matchbox cover under the #503 and a Ticket under the Busato and he got the Busato after 1948. Maybe while he was in Rome. Who knows? Not even Alain.

There is so much we do not know for certain.

Svanis1337 wrote:

Alain is a fine collector just like you. It must've been a real pleasure to meet him.

Indeed it was. The language barrier proved a bit of a problem but Mitch did a great job translating. Alain has masses of stuff from the fifties onwards and he was lucky enough to live in France where the opportunities were so much greater. He has stuff that even he has forgotten about.

Teddy Dupont

The magic bridge lift can be seen clearly here from this classic Le Bourget photo (late 1949 or early 1950 depending on who you believe). The position looks slightly different from some of the other photos but it seems to be the same folded piece or perhaps two layers of paper/card. It looks quite thick.

Barengero

Hi Folks,

maybe I'm wrong but it seems as if there's some water under Djangos Bridge.

Just my 2 cent…

Best,
Barengero

Svanis1337

Indeed there's water under his bridge! And there is actually a troll under the bridge of the Busato.



The photo from Le Bourget along with the one where he's outside are of very very high quality. There was a kind person uploading some very very high quality images including those two. I found them as well and saw your comments on them. There are a few photographs with that quality. One of them is the one from Nice, 1948 where he looks old.

Why did Django stick those things under his bridge in the first place? As some sort of signature, or just for fun?

Offtopic:

Roger, do you think these autographs are authentic? I remember you saying you've never seen Django write "Django Reinhardt", only "D. Reinhardt". The first one is for Freddy Taylor. The other for "A. Rachel". The letter "G" is written the same way.

Passacaglia

Roger, do you think these autographs are authentic? I remember you saying you've never seen Django write "Django Reinhardt",

Tbought I saw it in one of my Django bios (though can't find it now), but I believe Django signed his name in at least one of his letters to Stephane, when he was on tour with Duke Ellington. Of course, this was a letter and not an autograph. And I very well might have remembered wrongly. I might be mistaken here as well, but I also thought I saw at least one autograph where he signed his full name (sorry, very unsure on this last one).

Edit: Just found the autograph photo; it's on page 4 of the photo section in Michael Dregni's excellent bio, Django. "Pour Freddy," an autograph to an American GI's pal back home. Unless that photo's not Django's real autograph, the signature there looks the same as the ones here.

Svanis1337

That's very interesting! I don't have any letter that says "Django Reinhardt". Only "D. Reinhardt", or nothing at all. I think it's very cool that Stéphane taught him how to write and read a little.

Teddy Dupont

Svanis1337 wrote:

Roger, do you think these autographs are authentic? I remember you saying you've never seen Django write "Django Reinhardt", only "D. Reinhardt". The first one is for Freddy Taylor. The other for "A. Rachel". The letter "G" is written the same way.

Yes I think they are authentic. I do not remember seeing him write his full name ie Django Reinhardt in what we used to call at school "joined-up writing". Stephane Grappelli taught him to sign "D.Reinhardt" so for any other words, including Django, he printed them which is why you sometimes see "DJANGO Reinhardt" but not "Django Reinhardt". I don't think he knew how to write Django in "joined-up writing".

Here is another example where only Reinhardt is written rather than printed.