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Portrait of Django Rheinhardt. Photo by Studio Harcourt.

Top 10 Remarkable facts about Django Reinhardt

Django Reinhard was a Romani-French gypsy guitarists and composer born on 23 January 1910 in Liberchies, Pont-à-Celles, into a Belgian family of Manouche Romani descent. His birth name was Jean Baptiste Reinhart while his Romani nickname Django.

His father, Jean Eugene Weiss, was an artist domiciled in Â鶹APP and his mother, Laurence Reinhardt, was a dancer. His father reportedly played music in a family band comprising him and seven brothers; a surviving photograph shows this band including his father on piano.

He started playing the violin, banjo, clarinet and guitar after spending some time in Romani encampments near Â鶹APP moat of his youth. In 1951, after he retired, he moved to Samois sur Seine, France, near Fontainebleau. He lived there for two years until May 16, 1953, when, while returning from the Avon, Seine-et-Marne train station, he collapsed outside his house from a brain hemorrhage.

1.He was raised along the caravan trail

When Reinhardt was born he was raised along a caravan traveled by French gypsies and that was how he acquired a unique taste for music. Later on, he incorporated his unique musical he developed on under the influence of a nomadic culture upbringing into the jazz music. It was due to this upbringing that the rest of the world was introduced to the new jazz scene.

2.He used to fix musical instruments

Django Reinhardt wanted to support his family to bring in some sort of income. He therefore opted to fixing musical instruments in order to earn money. Moreover, increase his wages he started weaving baskets. In addition to his work he already had begun showing interest and love in music. At the tender age of 14 years, his professional career accompanying the popular accordionist, Guerino, in underworld Â鶹APPian dance halls was just starting.

3.He was first discovered playing guitars on a beach at Toulon

Louis Vola, a local French double-bassist, discovered Joseph and Django Reinhart playing guitars together on a beach at Toulon. Later on Vola invited them to perform with his jazz ensemble, consisting of violinist such as Roger Chaput and Stephane Grappelli.

They all kept the union and partnership going which gave rise to the Quintette du Hot Club de France, which quickly rose to fame and helped revolutionize traditional straight jazz with their unexampled, feverous sound

4.He learnt how to play the violin at a  tender age

Django learnt his very first instrument at a very young age all thanks to his father who was also a talented musician.  When he was a child he used to sit with camp fires and his father would play the violin. His mother was also talented as she used to perform in song and dance on the hinged of the caravan. Consequently, he ended up learning several instruments such as the banjo, guitar, and a guitjo at times playing at county fairs and on the streets.

5.He almost stopped playing the guitar after he got injured

When he was 18 years old, one night after a late performance, Django knocked over a candle on his way to bed. The candle caused fire to spread across the caravan consuming his belongings and injuring him badly. Django escaped with first and second-degree burns covering half of his body. After consultations with the doctors, they were of the opinion that he would never play the guitar again due to his badly burnt left hand. In addition they would also have to amputate his paralyzed right leg.

Fortunately, he recovered well and within a year was able to walk again with the use of a cane. He went through rehabilitation and practice to relearn his disability. He started playing the guitar however, unlike how he used to play, Django used his index and middle fingers to manage the fret board, and his other two fingers could only occasionally be used for some chords.

6.He survived World War II unscathed

Reinhardt was not harmed during World War II, unlike many other Gypsies who perished in concentration camps. His survival was mainly attributed to a Luftwaffe official named Dietrich Schulz-Köhn, mainly known as Doktor Jazz. Dietrich Schulz-Köhn was also a big fan of Reinhardt’s music.

7.He went on to tour with Duke Ellington’s orchestra as a special guest soloist

Portrait of Django Reinhardt and Duke Ellington,New York. Photo by William P. Gottlieb.

After the war ended, Reinhardt rejoined Grappelli in the UK and went on to tour the United States in 1946 with Duke Ellington’s orchestra as a special guest soloist. Reinhardt had the chance to perform at Carnegie Hall, performing together with remarkable musicians and composers such as Maury Deutsch. Reinhardt’s greatest pride was also touring with Ellington, even though he played only a few tunes at the end of each show.

8.His music has been used in different forms of art

Film poster for Django (2017 film) photo by IMDB.

Reinhardt has been portrayed in various forms of art such as the song Johnny Depp plays in the river party in Lasse Hallström’s Chocolat. Reinhardt’s music has also been used in the soundtrack of many films, including the oracle scene in The Matrix; the score for Louis Malle’s 1974 movie, Lacombe Lucien; the background for the Steve Martin movie L.A. Story, the background for a number of Woody Allen movies, including Stardust Memories. Reinhardt is portrayed in the opening sequence of the 2003 animated film Les Triplettes de Belleville.

9.Invented a distinctive style of jazz guitar

Reinhardt in 1946, photo by William P. Gottlieb.

After Reinhardt got injured form the fire incident the doctors warned him that he would no longer be able to play the guitar again. All this took a different turn after he went through rehabilitation and practice to relearn the guitar. Once he re-learnt, Django used his index and middle fingers to manage the fret board, and his other two fingers could only occasionally be used for some chords. His music was also influenced by his upbringing and introduced a distinctive style into the jazz scene.

10.The Django Reinhardt festival  in France

Django Reinhardt Festival in Samois-sur-Seine, France (2009), photo by Myrabella. Due to growing interest in Reinhardt’s music, gypsy jazz gained a massive popularity and in turn generated a large number of festivals, such as the Festival Django Reinhardt held every last weekend of June since 1983 in France.  The various Django Fests held throughout Europe and the US, and Django in June, an annual camp for Gypsy jazz musicians. In addition Belgian government issued a commemorative coin in 92.5% sterling silver in 2010 coinciding with the 100th anniversary of his birth.  

His devotees included classical guitarist Julian Bream and country guitarist Chet Atkins, who considered him one of the ten greatest guitarists of the twentieth century. Jazz guitarists in the U.S., such as Charlie Byrd and Wes Montgomery, were influenced by his style. In fact, Byrd, who lived from 1925 to 1999, said that Reinhardt was his primary influence. Guitarist Mike Peters notes that “the word ‘genius’ is bantered about too much.

Django remains a cultural hero to maverick guitarists world-round who play his music as homage to the legendary architect of the “gypsy jazz” sound. Reinhardt spent most of his youth in gypsy encampments close to Â鶹APP, spending carefree days immersed in music.