Django's most inspired year?

frater

Spalo wrote:

To me Django seems listless, hesitant and, dare I say, it uninspired most of the time.

Right, and there's more. If you play Minor Swing backwards you'll clearly hear his voice saying: "Swing sucks, Shred rules!"

Spalo

Naaaaaaaaaaaa !

Your confusing it with Matelot Ferret's 'Swing For Satan's Blood (Re-mix)'




SP

emicad

1947 for sure

Bob Holo

I tend to favor his 1925-1952 period .... ;-)

HarryO

For me it has to be 1939. When you listen to the 3 takes of "Tea for Two", "Melancoly Baby" and "Jeepers Creepers" and hear 3 different and original intros and solos it seems to me that Djangos' inspiration and imagination were nearly limitless. I also find this to be some of his most expressive playing.

Graham_Fellows

1947 - really epic, more melodic but some mental fast stuff too
Anniversary Song **
Duke and Dukie **
Dark Eyes
Peche a la Mouche
Songe d'automne **
Moppin the bride.

Second choice would be 1934 actually, he's just really on it nd throwing everything he can at his solos

Lady be good (the one with about 50 key changes)
Dinah
I saw stars (with that monster descending run - *does anyone have a clue how to play that run btw?)
Tiger rag
Confessin

awesome!

King_Cardboard

I’d like to revive this ancient thread and see what people think now a days.

I’ve been going through a phase of listening to Django based on the year and getting a idea of how things changed chronologically.

as a few people said already, I really like 1937 for what I consider the peak of his traditional style and then in 1947 through 1948 I feel like there’s an amazing transition where he made a lot of recording with the old hot club style lineup but playing much more modern material.

i also have a complicated relationship with the Rome sessions. I love almost everything about them, Django’s comping, the arrangements, instrumentation, Stephane’s solos. But Django’s solos kind of fall a bit flat for me compared to other years.

I'm just interested now that the forum has many more people and much time has passed, surely with plenty of people only having listened to even more of Django’s enormous recording library, what people’s opinions are now

vanmalmsteen

The Rome material!

1948?

Jim Kaznosky

Rome. If I learn (or relearn) any Django solo these days, it is going to be from these recordings.

wim

I like Django's 1950's stuff! I mean, I also really dig the Rome sessions, and I like the messy solos, it's more 'off the cuff' like he's just kinda having fun jamming with friends. Less rehearsed and canned sounding than the 30's hot club stuff.

But I really like the ways he was playing shortly before passing, e.g. listen to 1953 night and day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frpKDrx_o7Y (and fun to compare it with 1938 record of same, they're worlds apart).

It's more jazzy. Sounds like he was just about to head of in a whole new direction in the 50's - such a bummer that he fell ill at this stage. Django's last few recordings are so different sounding, that we may have just missed out on another wave of inspiration that was budding. It could have been another paradigm shift, the next chapter of guitar playing which wasn't able to came to fruition and we'll never know.