Louisson & Eugene Vees duet on film

bopster

There exists a TV movie called “Les Pittuiti’s” shown on France channel one in 1959. Louisson Baumgartner & Eugene Vees are on screen at the beginning and the end playing. This was the story and script that became “Mon Pote le Gitan”, released in theaters that same year. Same director and screenwriter, but a different cast. Here is a still from the TV movie:

Any link I have found for this movie leads me back to “Mon Pote le Gitan”, or, (on the tribute website for the actor Giani Esposito who was in the TV film) leads to some stills and a reference to the archives of Ina.fr, where it is a dead end.

I searched through Djangobooks forum for a mention of this film, but could not find one. Any knowledge anyone has would be greatly appreciated, and would shorten my stay in this particular rabbit hole.

Paul

ChrisMartin

Know nothing about the movie but I wouldn't say no to one of those Jacobacci Royals.

TonyRees

Hi Paul, I found information on this movie via the INA website back in 2018, and mentioned it on the page I created for Lousson Reinhardt, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lousson_Reinhardt . The film was accessible via INA at that time, but as you say the link seems to be dead now. The internet archive has a cached copy of the description, which reads:

Les Pittuiti's

08 févr. 1959 221 vues 01h 23min 53s

Comédie de Michel Duran, mise en scène par François Gir pour la télévision avec une musique de Django Reinhardt, avec la participation de deux enfants du compositeur, Emilie Baumgartner (la jeune fille à la chèvre) et Lousson Baumgartner-Reinhardt (qui interprète la musique de son père).C'est la rencontre de deux mondes, avec Théo Védrines, fils d'une famille bourgeoise qui compromet Zita, une jeune gitane de la tribu des Pittuiti's. Les Pittuiti's sont des gens du cirque alors que les Vedrines sont d'aimables bourgeois conventionnels. Le choc sera rude mais les deux familles finiront par se comprendre.

Translation (Google):

Comedy by Michel Duran, directed by François Gir for television with music by Django Reinhardt, with the participation of the composer's two children, Emilie Baumgartner (the girl with the goat) and Lousson Baumgartner-Reinhardt (who performs the music of his father). It is the meeting of two worlds, with Théo Védrines, son of a bourgeois family who compromises Zita, a young gypsy from the Pittuiti's tribe. The Pittuiti's are people of the circus while the Vedrines are amiable conventional bourgeois. The shock will be severe but the two families will eventually understand each other.

Production

Producteur ou co-producteur

RADIODIFFUSION TELEVISION FRANCAISE

Générique

Réalisateur

François Gir

Auteur de l'oeuvre pré-existante

Michel Duran

Musique originale

Django Reinhardt

Décorateur

Madeleine Monnier

Directeur de la photo

Jacques Manier

Interprète

Giani Esposito

Rosy Varte

Alfred Adam

Simone Paris

Yves Brainville

Jacqueline Corot

Gregory Chmara

Amarande-actrice

Guy Bertil

Christiane Jousique

Lousson Reinhardt

billyshakes

I had just been having a conversation with @scot wise about Lousson. I didn't think he'd ever been recorded. This would seem to indicate that there is a recording of him in the movie. I would have thought some of the scholars in GJ history would have come across this. Any one with more ideas on the actual content of Lousson's playing? Or is it just so brief that it doesn't really show his abilities accurately?

TonyRees

You can hear examples of Lousson's playing via some of the tracks available here: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=lousson+reinhardt - most/all from private tapes, (some in the family archive via Dallas Baumgartner), though one has been issued commercially, on "Gipsy Jazz School". One is a film clip (Anniversary Song), courtesy Teddy Dupont... more info possibly available from Teddy? There was stated to be a studio session from the 1960s as noted on the wikipedia page, never released though.

Regarding the “Les Pittuiti’s” performance, I believe I saw it in 2018 when an excerpt was available via the INA website, but do not really remember the details now, except that the tune was "Deux Guitares". I probably should have downloaded the film when I had the chance (of course) but did not...

I imagine some list members with more/deeper knowledge than me can probably comment further.

TonyRees

A second video clip uploaded by Teddy Dupont is "Triste Melodie", here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9aJfeWcxas

- Tony

Teddy Dupont

All the indications are that Lousson never released a formal recording. The two clips I uploaded on YouTube some time ago are typical of his style of playing. There is also an incomplete track on the “Django’s Legacy Gipsy Jazz School” CD recorded at a gig in 1966. I would need to check to see if I have anything else by Lousson.

To me, he is very much Django 1947 and shares his lyricism. Like Joseph Reinhardt, he is not typically Gypsy Jazz.

After appearing at the Django festival in 1978, he was so disappointed by the lack of response to his playing that he disappeared from the music scene and returned to his life as a nomad.

billyshakes

I heard Jean-Marie Pallen give an interview talking about accompanying Lousson at the 25th Anniversary Festival of the death of Django (1978) and apparently, Lousson opened the festivities as the "star" of the show. There were film crews there for television, and when it was played a week later, the only thing they focused on was an American harmonica player, Sugar Blue, who was popular at the time. Lousson was so upset he told Jean-Marie they'd never see him again.

If there were film crews there, it would be almost certain that they would have recorded the son of Django playing....perhaps B roll footage?

Teddy Dupont

Here is the tape from the “Gypsy Jazz School” CD:-

https://youtu.be/gtGwgbNtuVI

scot

Jean-Marie Pallen was Lousson's primary accompanist from 1964 until 1978, though Simon Lustigman and Francis Moerman also played with him. Jean-Marie, Pierre Moreilhon (bass) and Jacques Devenais (drums) made up the rest of the quartet that opened the 1978 festival. Jean-Marie had written special arrangements for this show and the performance was a great success. Lousson was so distraught about being omitted from the TV broadcast that he never played in public again - Jean-Marie, who had played with Lousson for 14 years, never saw him again.

There is also a Danish documentary about this same festival and it is where the clips Teddy Dupont posted came from. It's so weird, it shows Lousson walking around and they talk to him, but none of the stage performance is included there either.

I am fortunate to have some clips almost certainly recorded at a rehearsal in May 1978 at Jean-Marie's house, which I have attached here. Lousson was an excellent guitarist, especially for a guy who did not even own a guitar for most of the time Jean-Marie played with him. At the festival in 1978, Jean-Marie had to borrow an Ovation - Lousson was using his ES-175. Lousson's style was almost exactly that of his father c1951, lyrical and melodic.

There is more to this story and I suppose I need to go back and transcribe my interview notes from long ago... Francis always said Lousson was an unlucky person - his talent was special but wrong for the times

11 mai 1978 Nuits de Saint Germain des Prés.mp3

12 mai 1978 Lentement Mademoiselle index 12.mp3

I'm sorry that these clips are so short - I know that I have better examples somewhere that are longer and when I find them I'll post them too