Just Django

Bones

Uh oh, here we go again. I love Django's sound AND Bireli's. They are just different. Don't listen to Bireli and expect him to sound like Django. I'm sure that he could copy the master if he wanted to. He has his own sound which I would say is much more modern. Yes, very technical but still very melodic and with a lot of his own personality thrown in IMHO.

I love listening to all the contemporary masters of this genre. So much incredible talent. What a privilege to be present for this. This has to be some sort of 'golden age' for GJ. I think Django is proud of everyone, the current masters and all of us mere mortals trying to hang onto their coattails (along with Django's).

lostjohn

Teddy and JSanta, I tend to agree with you guys about Birelli. I feel a bit like I'm piling on here, but it seems to me that, despite his incredible talent, it sometimes seems that his reach exceeds his grasp. But, I also have to say that I respect someone who pushes the envelope.

JSanta

Bones, don't get me wrong. This is not a who is better or who sounds like Django more. My comments were based more on what I enjoy more based on my own preferences.

Jazzaferri

As has been said before. Good Musicians have 3 phases in their professional career.

1 seeing how many notes they can put into a piece
2. Discovery phase, where musical understanding truly starts
3 . Seeing how many notes they can take out of a piece

spatzo

About Bireli Vs. Django, etc. of course our appreciation of music is enterely subjective, it depends on our culture, our background, it varies from one to another...

A fact is that Django, while he was daily developping his musicianship, has indeed invented a new style. I think Bireli is a true master where Django is only a genious.

Thelonious Monk said once that you have not created anything new in Jazz if you do not have created new structures. What about Django? Django that, as we know wasn't really blues oriented, invented the "Blues Sandwitch" introducing a modulating bridge in the structure of the blues (ref. Place de Broukère) just like you put some good french cheese in your bread.

Generally speaking Mainstream and Bop have simplified a lot the more complex New-Orleans and Chicago structures. Those polyphonic musics were of course trully arranged to work perfectly when everybody was playing at the same time. At the opposite Big bands played a more complex music (Ref. Duke Ellington "Black Brown & Beige" for exemple) and there was - at least in France - a temptation at the end of WW2 to promote orchestral Jazz (see Boris Vian's articles on Jazz Hot/Combat) as being the future but in less than 10 years Free Jazz was already born changing completely the horizon and breaking the precise rules of improvised music.

Teddy Dupont

Here is Django with not that many notes but playing quite brilliantly.



....and here he is with masses of notes (although not all the time) yet still incredibly melodic and original

Jazzaferri

As Salvador Dali wrote, "painter no matter how hard you try to paint very badly, it will still be evident if you are mediocre."

Not saying Birelli is mediocre. Django however is one of those rare individuals in music, like Bird, Pops, and a few others who are not only able to play with unrestricted fluency, their artistry is of a very rare caliber indeed.

jonpowl

After seeing the pictures of Django's hands, I wonder about something an acquaintance whom is a professional musician and instructor (not in gypsy jazz) told me the other day. He said that Django's fingers were so long that he could cross the middle finger over the index finger during downward runs. I pictured a ballerina dancing across the fretboard when I heard this, but couldn't fathom why it would be more efficient than normal technique. I went home and tried it and couldn't get close. Did this really happen or was my friend exaggerating?

crookedpinky

There was an article published in the British Medical Journal in which two doctors did an investigation into Djangos damaged hand, They did some sophisticated modelling and came to the conclusion that he did indeed have very long fingers. Maybe a search on this site will take you to the article. Or this one
http://www.guitar-list.com/guitar-science/djangos-hand

Teddy Dupont

jonpowl wrote: »

After seeing the pictures of Django's hands, I wonder about something an acquaintance whom is a professional musician and instructor (not in gypsy jazz) told me the other day. He said that Django's fingers were so long that he could cross the middle finger over the index finger during downward runs. I pictured a ballerina dancing across the fretboard when I heard this, but couldn't fathom why it would be more efficient than normal technique. I went home and tried it and couldn't get close. Did this really happen or was my friend exaggerating?

He could do it apparently (see photo)and my father says he did when he saw him in 1938 but I can't see any reason for it other than a bit of showmanship.