Talk:Django Reinhardt

Hyperbole

The introduction makes claims about Django that seem very exaggerated to me. For instance, "regarded as one of the greatest guitar players of all time, having written nearly 100 songs." First, who so regards him? One source is not convincing; also, does this include all guitar players or only popular or jazz players? Second, writing songs has nothing to do with being a great player; this is illogical. Another example: "He was the ... most significant jazz talent to emerge from Europe." is too strong to belong in an encyclopedia without strong support. Again, who says so, and how do they justify it? Please, someone fix this so it's more objective, either more modest or much better supported. Zaslav (talk) 02:17, 22 January 2017 (UTC)

Checked and added some sources, along with some text attributing statements. About the number of songs he either wrote or recorded, "Djangology" alone (EMI 1948) is a ten CD set with over 100 songs. And there are many other recordings. All we can do is cite reliable sources. As for the total number of recordings he made and songs he composed, none of the sources gave an exact number. One video interview said that over a few year period in the 1930s he recorded about 60 songs. I moved some of the cites to the Legacy section instead of cluttering up the lead. But feel free to revise any details if you find some other sources that differ.--Light show (talk) 05:33, 22 January 2017 (UTC)

Blah blah blah you idiot

Tomkirby-smith (talk) 23:47, 12 December 2023 (UTC)

Well, what is objectivity in music? Reinhardt never won a 'Down Beat' or 'Metronome' Poll in his lifetime for his instrument. Instead, musicians like Benny Heller and Eddie Condon (who hardly ever played a solo) were preferred by readers. In a Down Beat Poll at the end of the 40ies, he ranks as number 28 (!!!) among the best guitar players. Play one single Reinhardt record and compare it to the achievements of some of those poll winners, and you'll have a good laugh. Musical quality is sometimes just obvious, and nevertheless there are people who don't hear it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:1205:5059:9020:5576:CDDB:5EAB:6E94 (talk) 16:16, 1 March 2018 (UTC)

There are some parts of this article in need of improvement, this is probably one of them. I note that "regarded as one of the greatest guitar players of all time" has now been sourced, although there are probably better ones to cite... Tony 1212 (talk) 04:56, 13 July 2020 (UTC)

Technique

What I came to this article hoping to find was some description of Rheinhardt's left-hand technique. What tuning(s) did he use? What chords did he accomplish with 2 fingers? Was he the first Power Chord player? Since as the article states Rheinhardt was highly influential on the development of jazz and later rock guitar techniques, let's have some details! Le jazz hot moves so fast it's hard to tell just by listening. D Anthony Patriarche (talk) 00:31, 31 January 2018 (UTC)

That's the problem when people write superlatives. They have to back them up. If they don't know enough about music, they don't know how. And some superlatives on Wikipedia no one could live up to. Regarding technique, maybe that's too much detail for Wikipedia. You might be better off with a biography about Reinhardt.
–Vmavanti (talk) 02:10, 31 January 2018 (UTC)

I have added a new section "Technique and musical approach" that deals with as many aspects of his technique as might be appropriate for a general article such as this. For more detail, you/one would have to consult one of the various "Play Django style" guides as listed in the (new) Bibliography. Cheers - Tony Tony 1212 (talk) 04:52, 13 July 2020 (UTC)

Featured picture scheduled for POTD

Hello! This is to let editors know that File:Django Reinhardt (Gottlieb 07301).jpg, a featured picture used in this article, has been selected as the English Wikipedia's picture of the day (POTD) for February 19, 2022. A preview of the POTD is displayed below and can be edited at Template:POTD/2022-02-19. For the greater benefit of readers, any potential improvements or maintenance that could benefit the quality of this article should be done before its scheduled appearance on the Main Page. If you have any concerns, please place a message at Wikipedia talk:Picture of the day. Thank you! Cwmhiraeth (talk) 11:45, 7 February 2022 (UTC)

Django Reinhardt (1910–1953) was a Belgian-born Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe, and has been hailed as one of its most significant exponents. This photograph of Reinhardt was taken in the jazz club Aquarium in New York around November 1946.

Photograph credit: William P. Gottlieb; restored by Adam Cuerden

Recently featured:

• Northern giraffe
• Wells Cathedral
• Gioachino Rossini

Discussion on: Improvisations

Hello, I hope this is the right place for discussion.

I would like to mention a part of Django Reinhardt's repertoire which is unknown even by specialists and which was only very late taken up by guitarists.

These are "Django improvisations".

The "improvisations" are the works played alone on the guitar (between 1935 and 1951) by Django Reinhardt during his career.

There are distinctly 14 Django solo pieces spread across 17 takes and some confusion in numbering and chronology. Indeed, improvisation n°2 is for example performed 3 times; that is to say: 2 times in a row during the same session of 1938 and once in the United States in 1946 where it is listed as "improvisation n°7". In addition to this (which adds to the confusion) improvisation n°4 is also rated n°7 on certain discographic editions. As for the piece "Two Improvised Guitar Choruses" from 1935, we can also (as its name suggests) segment it into 2 parts, but it is a uniform piece.

Guitarist Cyril Duclos began collecting Django's improvisations in 1991 and presented this repertoire for the first time in 1994 at the 'le Méridional' hall in Fleurance, France. He recorded the disc "les improvisations de Django" in 1999, and re-recorded in 2009. It's not about promotion, this CD is now untraceable. But this information is relevant, and concerns the Django musical directory. So I would like to know if it is possible to add it to the Django wikipedia and what is the most appropriate section to make this addition? Thank you.--Belleville1950 (talk) 14:48, 10 March 2022 (UTC)

The artist is non-notable, even in his own country, as you've been told on fr-wiki. All the sources you've provided have been writeups about the artist. Are there published sources -- not about Mr. Duclos -- regarding these improvisations? --jpgordon^{𝄢𝄆𝄐𝄇} 15:44, 10 March 2022 (UTC)

Of course, there is no question of the notoriety of the artist. But simply from a part of Django's repertoire on which this artist was the first to present a complete and integral work. We find the subject of 'Django improvisation' in all the biographies concerning Django and many links which refer to it. Example of a link that gathers these improvisations by Django himself:--Belleville1950 (talk) 16:20, 10 March 2022 (UTC) https://www.allformusic.fr/django-reinhardt/in-solitaire-complete-recordings-for-solo-guitar-1937-1950-compil

Nobody was arguing the improvisations don't exist; we're asking you to find sources discussing these improvisations. For example, Discontinuity in the Music of Django Reinhardt brings them up, and I found it in a quick Google search for "Django improvisations". No need to even consider the Duclos stuff, since Django's own versions are widely available. It's not at all important for the purpose of this article that Duclos recorded them. --jpgordon^{𝄢𝄆𝄐𝄇} 16:31, 10 March 2022 (UTC)

Cyril Duclos was the first to collect these pieces, to perform them in public and finally to record them. But never mind, that's okay, so thank you for the discussion. However, if you change your mind, feel free to add it in the appropriate section, for example "tributes". Respectful greetings.--Belleville1950 (talk) 16:48, 10 March 2022 (UTC)

Timeline of events in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Discovery of Jazz

As these paragraphs refer to connected events (meeting Grappelli and hearing him play), they should probably be merged and the sentences reordered to match the timeline, but I don't know what that is. Did he meet Grappelli and hear him play at the Ambassador? Before? After? The Crab Who Played With The Sea (talk) 09:39, 13 June 2022 (UTC)

I agree the current timeline is tortuous. The mention of the Ambassador is more about Grappelli hearing Venuti rather than about Reinhardt: see also the paragraph in "Django: The Life and Music of a Gypsy Legend" (which also indicates Reinhardt having a negative view of Lang). The Delaunay book (p66) indicates Reinhardt and Grappelli first playing together in Louis Vola's band in 1934. AllyD (talk) 13:05, 17 July 2022 (UTC)

Stereotypes and mental health

It is problematic to attribute the apparent difficulties to adjust, which Reinhardt experienced after the war, to his being Roma. It is plausible to interpret the issues described in this section as symptoms of a declining mental health, perhaps a response to trauma. I have thus changed the first sentence of the 'After the Quintet' section slightly, from 'After his return, Reinhardt re-immersed himself in Romani life, finding it difficult to adjust to the postwar world' to the shorter and more neutral 'After his return, Reinhardt appeared to find it difficult to adjust'. Timperman (talk) 14:32, 17 March 2023 (UTC)