Gypsy jazz mandolinists around here?

BillDaCostaWilliams · August 22

I'm asking as I rarely see the mandolin mentioned though I note there have been some top class mandolin players as instructors at Django in June over the years.

I hear mandolin influence in some of Django's tremolo fills - maybe he heard imigrant Italian players in Paris in his early days.

BillDaCostaWilliams · August 22

For starters, here are two of mine with over 100 years of an age difference -

1910 Pierre Gautié French flatback and 2025 David Sefl Czech A5:

Buco · August 22

There's been several members with "mando" something in their user name. But not recently that I can remember. Mandolin players at Django in June come in good numbers too. And wow, look at that pliage on the old one. It amazes me that these 100+ pieces of wood can look as good as they do.

JasonS · August 22

I had always assumed Django's tremolo technique was adapted from banjo. You hear that technique on a lot of low-sustain instruments like the cobza, oud, etc. though.

richter4208 · August 22

Definitely banjo in my humble opinion. As far as it relates to Django's tremolo.

pdg · August 22

Pliage is on all the traditional mandolins, and even on Martin teardrop-shaped (flat back) mandolins. It isn't considered anything special, rare, or expensive.

littlemark · August 22

I don't like it in Gypsy Jazz. They don't sustain enough to be useable in my opinion. Guitar is barely useable lol.

Love it in Western swing though.

Buco · August 22

I wouldn't think his tremolo came from one specific source. Even if chord tremolo wasn't a common sound on the guitar, it existed in the classical guitar as a single string tremolo. Also I think flamenco guitar and rasqueado were already common by this time. This was already enough for someone as musically adventurous as Django to take it to the next step. He was likely influenced by either banjo or mandolin, or both. I just don't think it was one single thing.

billyshakes · August 22

The old mandolin on the left looked familiar and I was thinking you had a repair or something on it. Looked back at the old discussions and I think it was just you posting that you acquired it. But it still looks neat. I'll bet both have different sounds. That one on the left has a top that looks more "carved violin/viola".

I know I spoke with several mando players at Django in June and there is one in DC who is a friend, but I'm not aware of many that hang out here regularly, excepting you of course! Then again, I don't always pay attention to those things.

Joonas · August 25

https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/122534#Comment_122534

Banjo, yes.

BillDaCostaWilliams · August 28

On the banjo vs mandolin influence as mentioned by @JasonS @richter4208 and @Joonas sure it’s likely that banjo would have had an influence on Django in his youth given his first instrument. But I recall that when David Reinhardt was telling us about the early days of his grandfather (at Django a Montmartre 2025) he did say he was influenced by Poulette Castro and the gypsy mandolinists from Catalonia. Tcha Limberger also mentioned Castro's influence in an interview in a recent thread here.

According to Dregni’s book, Poulette was a multi-instrumentalist who was an influential mentor in Paris musical circles in the 1920s and 1930s - he was unusual in reading music and so being able to take theatre and orchestra jobs.

The only recorded material of Poulette’s that survives is an old 78 rescued from a Paris fleamarket where he and his band play guitar and bandurria (a type of mandolin).

https://youtu.be/GTnMiAMd9Uw?list=RDGTnMiAMd9Uw