Django, Baro, and Gangsters

Jazzaferri

The plot thickens....I look forward to the next instalment

PapsPier

I'll ask more precisions to my french ''contact''

Teddy Dupont

Another potential confusion is that some reports say the bar opening was in 1943 not 1945. :shake:

Teddy Dupont

Paps has found some more information and it seems the bar was jointly owned by Baro and Jean Laplace and was called either Les 3 canards or Le Joker. Très intéressant. - Hopefully more to come.

I'll have to add this info to the article.

François RAVEZ

Hi,

Le 'Bar des 3 Canards' was located 58 rue La Rochefoucauld. It was previously 'Le Baro Bar' and was sold in 1951 to Marius Bertella. The 'Bar des 3 canards' was the meeting point of a gangster mob known as La Bande des 3 Canards (the 3 Ducks Gang).
Now may be Jean Laplace had ilegal or border-line activities, but even if it was the case it had nothing to do with what happened after in the same bar.

Probably this bar had such a bad reputation that they had to change his name to 'Le Joker' after.
Best

François RAVEZ

Hi,

A lot of people have noticed Django's strange attitude on the inauguration photos. I have a personnal theory about it based on the book 'On the road with the Lovara Roms by Jan Yoors.

This book tells the story of a teenager from Flanders who spent his youth travelling with gypsies. It was a 'tribe' specialized in horse business, probably rather close to the one of Django because they had some family established near the St Ouen flea market (if I remember correctly). Jan Yoors says that one of the gypsies was a very good singer and he was invited to a party by another gypsy. But he took great care not to show off because it would have been one of the worst offences to outshine the gypsy who invited and paid the food and the drinks. That is really the only way I can explain Django modest attitude. Well you know Django always the first to try to be on the photo!
Now a terrible offence calls back in return for a terrible punishment, so may be Django was even more cautious because of Baro's friends.
In fact Django was probably so certain of being the best that he refrained from playing, knowing that if a kind of competition araised he would have been forced to humiliate Baro.

I cannot find Jan Yoors book now, but may be someone has read it recently and can confirm my memories.

Best

François RAVEZ

Hi,

Even if they shared the same taste for nice suits, Baro's brothers, Matelo and Sarane, did not look as physically impressive as him.

Best

François

Teddy Dupont

The only one who doesn't look a bit of a dork in that photo is André Lluis. X_X

PapsPier

Clearly. Very funny (but interesting) picture!
By the way I don't have any news from the contact with Jean Laplace's son.

Teddy Dupont

We must be very wary of reading too much into a single photograph because all it represents is an instantaneous snapshot of a moment in time. If it had been taken a moment sooner or a moment later, it may well have given a totally different impression of the ambience and the mood of the people involved. This is particularly true of the photo with Django sitting between Lousson and Sarane. It gives the impression he was very withdrawn, even morose but perhaps if it had been taken a moment later, he would have been smiling happily. Newspapers are very adept at creating the impression they want by picking a single, atypical photo from a set just to make a story more newsworthy or to fit their own particular agenda.

However, I must have around 500 pictures of Django and the first two of the bar opening are unlike any other that I can recall. Django seems to be consciously trying to keep out of the limelight which was not his style at all. François’ theory of deference to Baro is a strong possibility but I cannot find such deference in any other photo. According to Delaunay, Django only really cared about musicians and one of those he held in the greatest respect was Louis Armstrong yet in the photo below, he is clearly imposing himself on Louis to the extent he is irritating him despite it really being Armstrong’s “show”. I know gypsies have a code of respect to each other in certain circumstances but I doubt Django held Baro in greater respect than he did Louis Armstrong.

If the first two photographs are truly representative of Django’s persona at the opening, I would be more convinced that he either did not want to get too closely associated with the event/personnel involved or, as François suggests, did not want the potentially adverse consequences of doing so. I would be surprised if it was any particular deference to it being Baro’s night particularly since Django was by far the most famous person there and you would have thought Baro would actually want him to be featured to promote the bar rather than hiding away.

Hopefully we can find out more about Jean Laplace as that could well affect how we perceive those photos.