[blog] Django Reinhardt in the press (of his time)

gatsby

Thanks Bob! That's what I really like about all these articles, they give us a sometimes unexpected view of Django and his music. What we take for granted now was far from being so at the time.

I like the fact that students at Columbia had access to Django's records as early as 1936 (maybe even before?).

Bob Holo

Haha, true -- it's easy to look back and revere Django, but to a lot of people back in the day, his music must have seemed odd.

Buco

There are a couple of his intros which if you recorded them today with heavily distorted guitars would sound like some good homegrown trash metal (or whatever metal subgenre would that sound fit) even by today's standards. I thought about doing it for fun but never got around.

Man, I looked up inflation calculator and according to that one article, he was asking $13,000 a night in today's money!?
My dear Django, you had some cajones that's for sure.
He probably also cursed the generations to come and everyone today still earns wage from 40s.

gatsby

Greetings!

I just posted 3 articles in English. The first one tells the story of how Babik gave Freddie Sharp the electric Gibson which Django used on his tour with Ellington:

https://djangoreinhardtdanslapresse.wordpress.com/2016/07/12/the-plain-dealer-5-nov-1967/

And here are two reviews of the concert at Carnegie Hall. Apparently Django could make his electric guitar sound exactly like a clarinet! (2nd article)

https://djangoreinhardtdanslapresse.wordpress.com/2016/07/12/new-york-times-24-nov-1946/

https://djangoreinhardtdanslapresse.wordpress.com/2016/07/12/new-york-herald-tribune-25-nov-1946/

I also stumbled upon this picture of Marcel Cerdan in NYC, a few days before before his fight against Abrams. It helps you imagine Django walking nearby and running into him the night of the second concert at Carnegie... You know the end of the story... :roll:



Make sure you also read the review of the Chicago concert
https://djangoreinhardtdanslapresse.wordpress.com/2016/07/11/chicago-daily-tribune-11-nov-1946/

And the first Down Beat review of the Quintet's records (1936)
https://djangoreinhardtdanslapresse.wordpress.com/2016/07/11/down-beat-dec-1936/

Plenty more articles to be found here!
https://djangoreinhardtdanslapresse.wordpress.com/

Teddy Dupont

gatsby wrote: »

Greetings!

I just posted 3 articles in English. The first one tells the story of how Babik gave Freddie Sharp the electric Gibson which Django used on his tour with Ellington:

https://djangoreinhardtdanslapresse.wordpress.com/2016/07/12/the-plain-dealer-5-nov-1967/

The guitar Babik apparently gave to Fred Sharp was an Epiphone which Django did not play it on tour with Ellington. Some poetic licence from either Fred Sharp or Babik or perhaps both.

gatsby

Oops, thanks for the rectification Teddy! Did Django leave the Gibson in the US when he left?

Teddy Dupont

gatsby wrote: »

Oops, thanks for the rectification Teddy! Did Django leave the Gibson in the US when he left?

Yes it seems so as he also apparently left the Selmer that Charles Delaunay brought out which was damaged on the trip.

Teddy Dupont

Perhaps the Epiphone was this one that Django played before he went to America. I think is it more likely Eugene Vees owned it though.

gatsby

I just found the review of the Philadelphia concert! That Frank Brookhouser sure doesn't sound very enthusiastic about the show.... :-?
https://djangoreinhardtdanslapresse.wordpress.com/2016/07/13/the-philadelphia-enquirer-30-nov-1946/

gatsby

We're in luck! Here is a long and excellent review of the Indianapolis concert, where the reporter actually had the opportunity to talk to Django and thus quote him in the article! The review is much more enthusiastic than the Philly one... Doesn't he mean his "broken English" rather than his "broken French"...? In any case... Enjoy! (sorry about the format, I had to cut six or seven different paragraphs and re-assemble them)

https://djangoreinhardtdanslapresse.wordpress.com/2016/07/13/the-indianapolis-recorder-16-nov-1946/