Django: The Life and Music of a Gypsy Legend

I read this book on a recent vacation and was kicking myself for not bringing Django Reinhardt CD's with me to listen to while I read. I have been an admirer of Django's music for some time but was unaware of just how much influence his music had on artists of his time. There are three reasons why I liked this book. One, to understand Django's personality the author tells us a little of the history and culture of the gypsies. Two, the backdrop of Django's life story is the Paris music scene during the 1920s, through the Nazi occupation of WWII, and the birth of bebop in the late 40s and early 50s. And three, the amazing life story of what may be the greatest guitarist ever born. All three of these aspect of the book are brought together to create an outstanding biography of Django Reinhardt. But be warned that reading about this incredible talent may cause an insatiable desire to listen to his music.

This is possibly one of the finest music biographies I've ever read (and I've read stacks). Instead of taking the tack of Django-worshipping, Dregni carefully and thoughtfully lays out all of the historical context around Django's life and music. This is a rarity among music biographies, which generally sum up historical context in literally just a few lines ("The Depression was over and times were tough, but the jukes were still swingin'"). Dregni does a fabulous job, and makes it interesting to boot. He also doesn't cut Django too much slack, although he doesn't villainize him either. Genius is generally accompanied by a bit of madness, and always with a bit of narcissism, and Django had all of this, which doesn't make him a bad person, just a bit of a mad genius. Dregni did well expressing this. All in all, Django had a phenomenal life and his body of work is practically unmatched in any genre, as far as quality and prolificness. Dregni simply gave us a historical context and a background behind the man who made it. This book is recommended to jazz fans (whether gypsy jazz is your thing or not), musette fans, guitar players, Francophiles, those interested in gypsy culture, those interested in WWI and WWII, those interested in Paris in the '30s and '40s, history buffs, and so on.

A legend in guitar fans, Django's music is recognized everywhere as the soundtrack for Paris. It has been used in films from those of Woody Allen to "Something's Gotta Give," and most every jazz lover and guitar fan at at least one album by Django in their collection. While he is arguably the world's most influential guitarist, the details of his life have remained a mystery. In this new book the author draws on hundreds of first person interviews with Django's family and friends. The result is a biography that is also the rich and fascinating story of the Roma people. Django's life was truly different. Born on the roadside in a gypsy cravan, his life was a battle to overcome racism and poverty. Just as his career was getting started, he was nearly incinerated in a fire that left his left hand almost paralyzed. Learning to play with only two fingers, he quickly became the toast of Europe for his gypsy-influenced jazz. Mr. Dregni has written a biography that is as reverant as it is enlightening.

I'm always wary of books written about musicians by other musicians. I got this as a gift and expected a lot of worshipful prose about Django Reinhardt. Instead, I was delighted to find a very well-researched history which afforded Reinhardt the great respect he deserves as an innovative jazz musician, but doesn't patronize or idolize Django the person. What emerges is a good sense of Django as both a player and a man. This history of Gypsy jazz and the styles that influenced it have led me to new apprecation of recordings by players like Angelo DeBarre and even some of the Chopin Waltzes that were infleunced by the musette tradition. There's a whole side to Gyspy music that is not as obvious or as well-known as Django's jazz influences. For anyone, especially a guitarist, interested in this kind of music, this book will make an excellent addition to your library. My only requests would be a list of sources for in-print recordings of some of the artists who were also mentioned in the book, like Baro Ferret who accompanied Django on many recordings but was apparently a virtuosic solist himself, and perhaps a few more pictures beyond the small but fascinating selection included. Overall, this is a great piece of well-written research that will do a lot to encourage and preserve a very special musical tradition.

In this book, Michael Dregni has done a wonderful job of putting the pieces together to tell the story of one of jazz history's most enigmatic, influential and inspired musicians. Usually, a critical look at a musician has to contend only with the prejudice and exaggeration of hearsay and legend, but in this book Dregni has also been confronted by the culture of shadows and secrets inhabited by the gipsies of Europe, no doubt making the process of connecting the dots of Django Reinhardt's story much more difficult. Gladly, he has done a marvelous job. The evocative prose succeeds in painting a picture not just of a life but of a time and place, equal parts romantic and real, that leaves the reader with an appreciation of what a truly remarkable man Django Reinhardt was and what a truly remarkable time it was in which he lived. Occasionally the book reminded me of a Jeunet film, an amber-hued voyage through a funhouse of dark corners, gypsy gangsters and cobblestones, all to the strains of an accordion heard through the rough doors of a bal-musette. Placed squarely in the the middle of such a milieu, Django emerges as a complex genius, his flights of musical inspiration bound by vanity and his artistic sophistication tempered by a childlike impetuousness and naivete'. Dregni thankfully does not allow his subject to dodge the dimmer aspects of the spotlight, painting a very human portrait of a man equally unreliable, duplicitous and vain yet devoted, sentimental and generous. Full flight is also given to Django's etherial magic-trick genius which resulted in, at times, perfect examples of inspired expression within the worldly context of a high art. There are many important reasons for Django Reinhardt's enormous influence on music (and jazz in particular), likewise for the legends and stories that surround both him and his surviving legacy, and I feel that this book does a wonderful job putting them into context for us. What an enjoyable and inspiring read.