Did Django Use "Tricks"?

JTK

Acoustic Django sounds different than the acoustic/live Joe Pass. Did Pass employ tricks? D'oh.

wim

That quote from Aleman always makes me laugh. It's so bizarre. The first half he is really throwing shade, saying Django plays with too many tricks, that many Americans in France agree, and then he goes on to say something like "not me! I play with my fingers", implying as if Django was somehow limited by playing with a pick. But then he does a full 180 and starts saying how they were such good friends and played together many times at the caravan etc..

I can't quite tell what's going on: whether Aleman has this huge ego and genuinely reckons himself a greater musician than Django (haha), or if it's that he feels a little bit insecure in comparison and was on the defensive, before realizing he was putting his foot in his mouth and catching his words? Or maybe he was just being a bit of a joker, talking sarcastically, and that didn't translate properly into text?

JSanta

https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/101059#Comment_101059

That's my exact takeaway as well. I think it boiled down to his own ego, and that he said the things he said to diminish Django in some way. And I mean, not to mention that Django composed and recorded some of the most beautiful finger style pieces I've ever heard.

jonpowl

A year or so ago, a video was posted on Djangobooks which had two gypsy jazz players from the 70s or 80s (or before) that used every "trick" one could imagine. They were very powerful players and I remember thinking that they must wear out guitars frequently. As I recall, one had dark, curly hair, and the other possibly had lighter colored hair. I have searched for this video without luck. Any ideas?

Buco

I think you're correct on both accounts @Wim Glenn