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Like every great innovator in history. Millions of copycats. If Django was alive today he would most likely appreciate a guy like Bireli for instance. Someone who learns the ropes but then runs with it, and change it up.
This has been my thought for the last thirty-plus years, there are so many people putting so much time and effort into trying to copy, down to the last detail, with no original idea other than some kind of onanism. Or worse, not quite get there and then try to blend in their own shortcomings to claim they have "put their own stamp on it". Just like Bonamassa recycling Clapton; yes he does it very well, but why?
I have always loved Django's music and am still trying to learn some of the technique and sound, but for no other aim than to absorb it all, same as I have with Hendrix, Beck, Buchanan (for a small example) or Manitas de Plata, Reverend Gary, Wes and all the rest and hopefully, one day, before I pass on, play something of my own, unique, something ORIGINAL!
Sorry, I am probably on the wrong forum to dare to say that..........
Sorry, I am probably on the wrong forum to dare to say that..........@ChrisMartin I think the overall spirit of this forum is love to the style and the players, and interest in the musical and technical aspects, not idolatry. All the masters of Sinti Jazz are showing us, with their various sounds and approaches, that there is more than one way to stay in that tradition - or to stretch it's limits. "Tradition is not the worship of the ashes, but the passing on of the fire" (the saying is going back to the french socialist Jean Jaurès, 1859 - 1914. Composer Gustav Mahler said in a more harsh way: "Tradition is sloppiness." ).
And coming back to that ashes-and-fire metaphor: a big "thank you" to Michael and all the others here who really blow into the embers.
I might be in the wrong thread for saying this but to me it's a view that leaves a whole lot out. Not unlike when someone says all classical music sounds the same to me. It's really interesting that I just now watched a video with Tcha playing Dui Dui (it's doesn't sound like the song we worked on together on the forum. Is there more than one named Dui Dui?) and he was quoted as saying something on this subject. It's in the description of the video:
Funny
But seriously I think it is all valid. Personally I have no original ideas or inspiration or technical abilities as a lead player so I am happy just to study how it is done by people who can do it. Especially Django. It's all good.
To me that's very strange. I am a long time jazz player, and only ever cared about improvisation. To me that is what music is about.
I was not criticising everyone on here and I am sure there are many who are taking something from the gypsy tradition and making something new. But....there are many more who are just copying, or at least trying to, but for what purpose other than some feeling of self-satisfaction to say, "there, I did it" and some fleeting signs of congratulation and admiration from some pals who can't quite get it right, yet.
Of the GJ players we know and frequently mention on here, of course, Bireli, Fapy, Angelo, Tchavolo, have all taken the style somewhere new since Django, I particularly like what Feigeli Prisor does too and there are many new younger players coming through all the time but a lot more of what I hear is just straight copying for copying's sake. I am sure many of us started out by trying to nail the solo from the 1937 Minor Swing or similar but once achieved it is surely time to move on.
All I mean is that copying for the sake of it does seem rather pointless, and if you think that applies to you, or not, is your decision but yes, going back to the original post, Django would certainly be a little amused to see what is going on here and now.
I think there would be many classical musicians who would disagree with you on this point. I've met some serious musicians who play in their city symphony orchestra who would never dream of improvising. No desire to do so. Their version of music is to precisely play the written notes on the sheet in time with a whole bunch of other professionals doing the same thing, applying the appropriate emotion and interpretation as dictated by their conductor, but with no improvisation. I think even the great Yehudi Menuhin, when he recorded his album with Grapelli, composed his solos in advance and rehearsed them note-for-note so they would be perfect. I think improvisation is one element that can make up music, but it isn't the be all, end all. Just my opinion, FWIW.
Both of you have valid views there, but the point of this post is that there are many who like to copy, note for note what, when Django first played it, was an improvised solo. That does not fit either the 'read the score' classical brief or qualify as improvisation.