Django Reinhardt

Wednesday January 16 Django Reinhardt expo

I was enticed by posters in the Metro for the La Cite de la Music-Django Reinhardt so why not go?

Feeling adventurous in Paris is easy when you have the monthly carte Navigo - just hop on and hop off like a gypsy...

'Born in the back of a caravan into a family of performers, Django Reinhardt (1910-1953) might have grown up in the slums of the “Zone”, but he belongs to the aristocracy of swing'.

Jean Cocteau described Django as this "child of the breeze"

His jazz music were the classics of the 20's and 30's. And 40's too. Just listen to 'Blues' and you'll get the rift.

The exhibit was crowded for a cold Wednesday afternoon. The rooms were darkened like a jazz club with booths for listening and headphones everywhere to get into the swing of things.

Endless posters of Django - He was an attractive guy. He suited the graphic style of the times - sharp, angular, almost abstract and wonderful to draw.

Lots of tables that looked like juke boxes were filled with dance programs and all sorts of memorabilia. Django played with the best - Coleman Hawkins, Duke Ellington, Dizzy, Benny Carter and of course his partner for many years, Stephan Grappelli. Together they changed the sound of the times ever evolving creatively.





A neighborhood dog looks like hes waiting outside Django's caravan. 
Later on Reinhardt returned to the gypsy life of his childhood but his music is eternal. 
Listen to Nuages. 
I'm in a Cyber Cafe - no wi-fi again but...
I'll see you in my dreams...