Hi all!
Good news! We have new photos of Django today, the first one shot with Grappelli at Pleyel in Paris to announce the first "old quintet" postwar concert on 14 November 1947
And the second one during a happening organized in the "Hammam Club" in Paris by the "Record" Magazine with Django, Challain Ferret and french singer George Ulmer ("Si tu savais") and the Peter Sisters on 18 February 1948
Closer...
With George Ulmer left Django and Chalain Ferret
Comments
Excellent! ?️
youtube.com/user/TheTeddyDupont
Cool did you find them from newly uplaoded journals on Retronews? If so we really need to keep our eyes on these archives.
WOw reading the press about the Peter Sisters reveals how far the society has evolved since then. They are described and promoted as the "trio pachydermique", "chanteuses de poids", "a l etroit sur la scene du cabaret" etc. No one would dare to make a comment about that today! (Maybe it is also because their weight is the new norm in the US?)
While looking for the pictures of Spatzo on Retronews, I found a new article about Django with a drawing (not a picture unfortunately). They talked about the Boeuf sur le toit gig after he came back from the US. Nothing super interesting but still new
And there are a bunch of new articles about Django to read. I ll let you have you look at it. There might be more coming as they keep scanning more articles from more sources!! (articles about Django in New York, meeting of Django and Stephane for the first time since the war, a bad boy fan of Django, armstrong and Django meeting in Nice with what I think is a different take from the series we already know, Benny Goodman and Django, an article about Joseph who had disappeared, Django's painting with a nice picture (potentially new, have to check), obituaries for his death)
The article about Joseph disappearing is interesting because it reveals a tormented soul as interesting as Django's: Joseph was playing a cabaret, at 4am, he just left, leaving his guitar and coat behind and nobody saw him after that. Django said It is worrying but not surprising as he mentioned before he wanted to escape everyday life. We learned also from this article that Joseph, unlike Django, was really professional (on time, giving notice to the boss if any issue would come up)
where does the smiling Django come from?
L Intransigeant, June 1951. For an article about Django painting exhbition at Club St Germain
Nice one!
There is also another interesting article from the newspaper "Ce Soir" dated 1946 Dec 29th (here partially translated) that depicts Django (the King of Swing) playing at the Café Society Uptown indicating he played there in trio with only a double bass and drums.
"Every evening in a fashionable club on the East Side, when the atmosphere meets the desired degree of receptivity, Django Reinhardt climbs the steps of a small throne of black wood that has been specially prepared for him. A waiter in livery brings him a sparkling electric guitar connected to a loudspeaker placed behind him.
In the darkened room Django Reinhardt stands out under a raw light projected on him from the ceiling. On each side surrealist paintings frame it. In front of him stands the audience composed, it goes without saying, of night owls and hot music lovers.
He plays with a drum and a bass that support his rhythm"