Quintette du Hot Club de France

Quintette du Hot Club de France was a jazz group founded in France in 1934 by guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stéphane Grappelli, and active in one form or another until 1948.

One of the earliest and most significant continental jazz groups in Europe, the Quintette was described by critic Thom Jurek [http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:dzfqxql0ldte~T1] as "one of the most original bands in the history of recorded jazz." Their most famous lineup featured Reinhardt, Grappelli, Vola and two rhythm guitarists who filled out the ensemble's sound and added occasional percussive effects.

History

There are several versions of how the band was formed. The most likely comes from bassist Louis Vola, who said in an interview that he found the Reinhardt brothers playing on a beach at Toulon. [cite book | last=Delaunay|first=Charles | title=Django Reinhardt | publisher=Da Capo Press | year=1961 | id=ISBN 0-306-80171-X|pages=49-50] He invited them to jam with his own band, which included Grappelli and guitarist Roger Chaput.

After a series of informal jam sessions at the Hotel Claridge, concert promoters Pierre Nourry and Charles Delauney (leaders of the "Hot Club de France") urged the formation of a full time group. [Delaunay, p66] With the addition of Reinhardt's brother Joseph on second rhythm guitar, the quintet popularized the gypsy jazz style. A series of European tours were very successful. Several bassists and rhythm guitarists rotated in and out of the group, with Django and Grapelli remaining the sole constants.

The group disbanded in 1939 due to World War II. Django continued using the Quintette name to for a different group, with Hubert Rostaing as the first of several clarinetists backed by a more conventional rhythm section with drums, bass and a rhythm guitar played by Django's son Lousson Reinhardt, or his brother Joseph.

In 1946, Grappelli and Django reestablished the earlier Quinette lineup, which performed and recorded intermittently until about 1948.

References

External links

* [http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/worldmusic/view/page.basic/artist/content.artist/hot_club_de_france National Geographic's World Music site]