DJANGO REINHARDT: FOUR CLASSIC ALBUMS PLUS (DJANGO / DJANGO / THE LEGENDARY DJANGO / DJANGO REINHARDT) (2 CD)

AVID Jazz here presents four classic Django Reinhardt albums plus, including original LP liner notes on a finely re-mastered and low priced double CD.
“DJANGO”, “django”, “The Legendary Django” and “Django Reinhardt” and plus the E.P. “Larry Adler with Quintette of the Hot Club Of France” plus two alternatives from the E.P. taken from 78’s.
What do we say about the legendary Jean “Django” Reinhardt that has not been said before? Born in a gypsy caravan in Belgium in 1910 and died tragically young at the age of 43, after a stroke in 1953. Django was THE guitarist’s guitarist! Listening to these early albums from the 1930’s and 1940’s with the legendary Quintette de Hot Club de France, which of course also featured the masterful violin playing of Stephane Grappelly, his playing still defies belief for its urgency, passion skill and vibrancy. His style of playing, no doubt due to the tragic accident that left him only the use of two of his left hand fingers is stunning by any standards, let alone given his so called “handicap!”. Although illiterate, (Django could not read music) he was however a passionate man with many interests and was able to write many songs as we can witness on many of these classic sides. Our “plus” includes the E.P. featuring the harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler recorded in the 1938 with the Quintette and shows how Adler, perhaps surprisingly, had a firm grasp of the jazz idiom. The numbers chosen are four of the most popular standards in the jazz repertoire.
All four albums plus have been digitally re-mastered for probably the finest sound quality ever!

CD1
1-10: ‘DJANGO’
1. Oh, Lady Be Good
2. Dinah
3. Confessin’
4. I Saw Stars
5. Tiger Rag
6. The Continental
7. Blue Drag
8. Sweet Sue (Just You)
9. The Sunshine Of Your Smile
10. Swanee River
11-24: ‘django’
11. Charleston
12. Chicago
13. You’re Driving Me Crazy
14. In A Sentimental Mood
15. I’ve Found A New Baby
16. Alabamy Bound
17. Oh, Lady Be Good
18. Minor Swing
19. Viper’s Dream
20. Swingin’ With Django
21. Paramount Stomp
22. Bouncin’ Around
23. St Louis Blues
24. Swing Guitars
25: ‘The Legendary Django’
25. Daphne
26. Lover Come Back To Me (Alternative Takes from 78’s)
27. I Got Rhythm (Alternative Takes from 78’s)

CD2
1-13: ‘The Legendary Django’
1. You Took Advantage Of Me
2. Sweet Georgia Brown
3. My Serenade
4. Naguine
5. Stephen’s Blues
6. You Rascal You
7. I’ll See You In My Dreams
8. Stockholm
9. Echoes Of Spain
10. Younger Generation
11. Blues
12. Vendredi 13
13. Rythme Futur
14-23: ‘Django Reinhardt’
14. Daphne
15. Mabel
16. Djangology
17. Swing 41
18. Swing 42
19. Nuages
20. Sweet Sue
21. Limehouse Blues
22. Place de Brouckere
23. Black Eyes
24. Body And Soul from EP: Larry Adler with Quintette of the Hot Club of France
25. Lover Come Back To Me from EP: Larry Adler with Quintette of the Hot Club of France
26. I Got Rhythm from EP: Larry Adler with Quintette of the Hot Club of France
27. My Melancholy Baby from EP: Larry Adler with Quintette of the Hot Club of France