Top Ten Instrumentals: Minor Swing (#7)

Tweet

Way back when I used the Allman Brothers’ “Jessica” I made a reference to this man and promised he’d be along sooner or later. Since we’re in the top ten, it’s obviously later. Here we go with one of the most amazing musicians of all time. #7: Minor Swing - Quintet of the Hot Club of France If you listen to this first, you’d probably think that’s some pretty hot guitar. Of course it is, this is the HOT Club of France! After I tell you about Django Reinhardt, however, you might not be able to pick your chin off the floor. Jean “Django” Reinhardt was a Roma (known in some western countries by the term “gypsy,” which is usually considered a slur) born in Belgium in 1910. He’d taught himself to play guitar and banjo, and in 1928 he made his first recordings. On November 3, 1928, however, everything changed. A fire in Reinhardt’s caravan nearly killed him. He escaped, but with serious injuries to his leg and hand. The doctors determined his leg injury was so severe that they needed to amputate, but Reinhardt refused. The ring and pinky fingers on his left (fretting) hand were damaged to the point of being useless. A promising music career was over before it started. Not so fast. Reinhardt re-taught himself how to play guitar, using only the two “good” fingers. In the process, he introduced jazz to something new: the guitar as a lead instrument. With French violinist Stéphane Grappelli the Quintette du Hot Club de France was born. To say they changed music is an understatement. “Gypsy jazz,” as it was called (I know very little about jazz, so it’s my understanding that it got that moniker because of Reinhardt’s ethnicity), is still popular in jazz circles today. Reinhardt brought the guitar to the forefront of the band. And he did that with just two fingers. When I used “Jessica” I mentioned that Dickey Betts wrote it to be played with two fingers on the fretting hand in honor of Reinhardt. Listening to this, you can see just how much Django accomplished with just two fingers. Minor Swing Written by Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli Recorded by the Quintet of the Hot Club of France Released as a single, 1934 Bon soir!