Django posthumously ripped off?

AndrewUlle

Being fairly new to gypsy jazz (only listening/playing for the last couple years), when I first heard Nuages, I assumed that I had heard it somewhere before, but not sure where or when. Up until about the year 2000, I was not even acquainted with Django Reinhardt.

But I just figured it out: the theme music to the Jackie Gleason Show, which I remember watching every week as a child, contains the same melody line, at least the first 7 notes. It's called Melancholy Serenade; check it out on youtube if you're not familiar or have forgotten it.

Anyone else notice the similarity?

Matt Mitchell

yeah i noticed, similar but not the same melody line:
The first phrase of Nuages starts on c# and ends on f, up a third,
The first phrase of MS starts on f# and ends on g, up a m2.

Now if you want to talk about Django 'ripping off' tunes,
check out the similarities between his tune Cavalerie and Duke Ellingtons' Mystery Song. There are others, check out the less obvious similarity between Djangos' Troublant Bolero and the standard Flamingo. Also, didn't Django add a bridge to an old folk tune to create Tears?

Bones

If you ask me Jackie's moustache looks suspiciously similar to Django's IMHO. Coincidence. I think not.

http://www.classichollywoodbios.com/Images/Jackie Gleason Images/Jackie Gleason Portrait.jpg

http://theselvedgeyard.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/django-reinhardt-postcard.jpg

wim

Heheh. Djengo.

daffyduck

Nuages is a slightly altered version of "what a difference a day made" mixed with " I'll never be the same" . Yes Flamingo and Troubland are the same ..{ same year} but lets face it, Art informs Art. Fleche Dor is Bohemia after Dark, Melodie de crepuscule is Diane..

Matteo

There are similarities between Anouman and Early Autumn, as someone has pointed out. I don't remember who or where, possibly here.

klaatu

stuart wrote: »

Or for that matter, Heavy Artillery and Tuxedo Junction.

The A section is pretty much Tuxedo Junction, the B section is Jersey Bounce.

Jasper_McJasper

In the musical "Mame" a song "If He Walked Into My Life" does not begin with but contains melody at "Did he need a stronger hand? Did he need a lighter touch?" etc. that is very close to both Gleason's "Melancholy Serenade" and Django's "Nuages".

And it is a crock that I typed "Stéphane Grappelli" into the blank to sign up repeatedly and had that turned away as an incorrect answer. Your system should be programmed to accept any spelling of Grappelli's name that indicates that the typist knows the answer if not being able to spell it correctly. And also to accept Grappelli's name in any language relevant to his life experience. When I finally typed "Stephane Grappelli" instead of "Stéphane Grappelli" I was accepted. This is not right. At the very least the Italian "Stefano" which was his legal name for the first decade or so of his life should be allowed. While I'm here, the only way we can get Captcha to stop using photos wherein someone of my age can't recognize the speck that is supposed to be the bird that the instructions ask for is to stop using Captcha and stop paying them. LOSING MONEY will cause them to buckle and use more reasonable anti-robot visual identifications.

AndrewUlle

@Jasper_McJasper your last part reminded me of this John Mulaney bit:

https://youtu.be/lWOSc42Ga5g?t=345

Quadropenta

Schnuckenack Reinhardt plays the complete melody of "Tears" as "Muri Wachsella an u Sennelo Weesch" No change in the bridge. I don't know if this means Tears is exactly the same as an old traditional melody or if Schnuckenack is renaming Tears for his own reasons.

rudolfochrist

"Muri Wachsella an u Sennelo Weesch" is the original title, as far as I know. And it is an old traditional melody that Django renamed to Tears.