Django Reinhardt- "J'attendrai Swing" (1939)

Django Reinhardt was born in Belgium around 1910, and later moved to France, where he lived in a Gypsy (Romani) Caravan outside of Paris. He already played banjo, guitar etc., and was about to join a band with his brother. This was around 1928.

However fate had something else in store for him. In November of 1928 he almost died. He knocked over a candle and the wagon in which he lived with his wife was engulfed in flames. There was a tremendous amount of celluloid, used by his wife to make artificial flowers, the result burning over half of his body, including his left arm and right leg. He refused the amputation of the leg, and walked with a cane for the rest of his life. He was hospitalized for 18 months.

But it was the injury to his left hand which was the worst part, while at the same time the very thing that made him the great guitarist he became. The fourth and fifth fingers of that hand were severely burned and he was told that he would never play guitar again.

Music was such an integral part of his life that he went on and taught himself to play with the index and middle fingers of his left hand, using the two injured fingers only for chords. Those injured fingers were what gave him his unique sound, resulting in those rapid runs up and down the fret board. He used a six-string steel strung acoustic guitar.

By 1929 he had and his wife had a son, but they soon split up. However, the son, Lousson Baumgartner, eventually became an accomplished player and even recorded with his father.

He was introduced to American jazz by an acquaintance, Emile Savitry. They were both influenced by Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang, and Lonnie Johnson. But it was the swinging sound of Venuti's jazz violin and Eddie Lang's guitar-playing which gave birth to Reinhardt and  Stephane Grappelli's unique  sound. Together they would form the Hot Club and alter the course of music. Grappelli was even featured on Paul Simon's "Hobo Blues" in the early 1970's.

This song is the short version from a film about jazz, which can be found on You Tube and I highly recommend it. It takes you from the original classical recording of a classical recording to the following jazz-swing version of the song. For the sake of brevity I am posting only the portion of that video with Django and Grappelli with the Hot Club. I hope you enjoy it. 

The Picasso from Rocky Mount, N.C.

The following remarks were delivered yesterday by Eddie Ray of the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame at the ceremonies honoring Thelonius Monk, which took place in Rocky Mount, N.C. I was privileged to be asked to write a little something befitting of the occasion; and glad to do it.

My original draft was a little bit different in that it included 3 paragraphs which Eddie Ray chose not to speak, thus proving his legendary talents as an accomplished Artists and Repertoire (A&R) man. I have been known to go on tangents and need minding. 

So, here is the text of the remarks as written by me and edited to a fine edge by Eddie Ray, and then spoken at the ceremony. It was an honor for me to write about Thelonius Monk; and although I might not be the number 1 fan as purported in the in the opening remarks; I do recognize the genius of the man.

Introduction by Bobby Monk.

Eddie Ray:

“Thank you Bobby,

When Robert Williams,  a devoted fan of Thelonius  Monk,  heard that I had been honored to participate in Thelonius’  97th  Birthday Celebration in his home town of Rocky Mount, NC, he sent me   some  suggested  comments  about his musical idol  that he would  have liked to share if he were participating in the Celebration.  Robert’s comments were so beautiful and emotionally moving, I decided to share them with you. He entitled his presentation, 

 

“THE PICASSO FROM ROCKY MOUNT”

“The leaves would have been turning; just as they are now. Look around outside at the beautiful colors surrounding us; these were the first sights that the boy would ever see.  And though he traveled far; would they ever leave him?  The sounds of his first winter would have been full of the wind as it howled and blew through  the hills;  and when it froze  he would have heard the cracking of the tree limbs as they broke away from the trunks, crashing,  quietly muffled on the snow  covered ground; crashing quietly; just like the struggles evident in his music later on; when discordant notes fought for a place among sweeter melodies. Could his senses have ever really forgotten from where that came?

Surrounded by the colors and SOUNDS of these hills and mountains where he was born had to have helped form the mind of the boy who would someday mesmerize the world with his unique SOUNDS. And although he would leave these hills at an early age; he was only 5 years old when his family moved to New York City; this is where he came from.

After moving to New York, where the people today still claim  him as their own;  it seemed like everybody wanted a piece of him.  A largely self-taught   musician, he did attend Julliard for a while; where it must have been difficult for him to contain his musical visions within the confines of a structured school setting.  But, at age 17 he toured with a gospel band playing the organ for a few years before forming his own ensemble. 

After that, came the legendary years, which produced such classics as “Round Midnight” in 1947. Photos of him at the time; he was 30; show a sharply dressed and focused man. I could go on about all his great achievements in the field of Progressive; and even Advant Garde Jazz, but all of that has been covered elsewhere by others. You didn't come here to hear a biography. You came here to celebrate a great musical SOUND.  

Somewhere, sometime; there was a note, or possibly a melody, which entranced you and drew you in, And then you were hooked on that “SOUND”. Thelonius Monk was that SOUND personified. And his entire life; until his death over 30 years ago; was a continued exploration of just how far he could take that SOUND, from Rocky Mount, NC to New York City and to every city in the world he took his SOUND he refined it each step of the way , adding something he heard here; and a note he heard there; until those combined SOUNDS became the soundtrack of his own life and travels; and the lives of those that traveled the musical path with him.

But in the end it always comes back to the place where it began. Sometimes it takes a while for the SOUND to travel; but travel it does. And this time it has traveled all the way back to Rocky Mount, NC where it began”.    ©Robert Williams

On behalf of the NC Music Hall of Fame,  I am  honored  and grateful  to have  the opportunity to  help  preserve, honor and promote Thelonius  Monk’s extraordinary contributions to the rich musical history of our State of North Carolina and to the entire world.  The memory and enjoyment of his amazing musical contributions to the world of music will live on forever.

For more about both Eddie Ray and the NC Music Hall of Fame in Kannapolis, go to their link at;

http://northcarolinamusichalloffame.org/

Jimmy Scott - "Everybody Needs Somebody" (1950)

Jimmy Scott passed away on Friday in Las Vegas. He was a tremendously gifted singer who influenced everyone from Billie Holiday to the Four Seasons and Little Anthony. He is the only singer who could make Madonna cry with his vocals. His career spanned the late 1940's and almost ended in a dispute with his record company in the late 1960's. But quality cannot be denied and Mr. Scott made a comeback in the last 20 years of his life, still performing until quite recently. Explore his work on You Tube and see what you missed.

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"Learning to Smile Again" - Johnny Hartford 

This is not the version of the song I wanted to post, though it is close. The performance is almost the same, but the sound is lacking in quality. For whatever reason the big machine wouldn't recognize the code from You Tube and so I had to settle for this. But I can provide a link to the better version, and I will.

I have posted Johnny Hartford here before. He is a direct link to the days before Delta Blues, Appalachian Music, and even New Orleans Jazz. His is the world of the steamboats which once plied the Mississippi loaded with cotton, and slaves, as it transited the Big Muddy. The grand boats weaved through free and slave states alike, giving birth to new music and even literature. Mark Twain once piloted a river boat there, and so would Johnny Hartford. He was a man of the river, you might say.

Apparently the following link is to the album which is now out of print. Johnny Hartford rented a studio and set it up with one spotlight and a small area in which to perform his personal favorite songs; some of which he wrote; some of which were always there. He uses every bit of his body, heart and soul in each song. His voice doubles as train whistles, steamboats, washing machines. He even provides a rhythm section in the form of his considerable tap dancing talents as he both sings and plays his fiddle; or sometimes banjo; or sometimes guitar. Al;l while singing.

This is the way most Americans heard music back in the middle of the 19th Century; in the days before Edison invented the wax cylinder; or Marconi the wireless. If you didn't go to church you most likely never heard live music. And if you did it was probably at a tavern or political gathering with the entertainment performed by someone dressed just like Mr. Hartford.

Most people remember him as the guy who stood up with Glen Campbell each Sunday evening playing the banjo to the song he wrote "Gentle on My Mind." But he was so much more. It ocurs to me that there must be a reason I am thinking about him lately. Well, I just looked and it's been 13 years since his death from cancer at age 64. Of all the artists who have passed in that time period Johnny Hartford is the one I probably miss the most.

But watching these videos; the link to which is provided below; he lives forever; tapping and singing his way into our collective American experience. The music has it's roots in Scots-Irish ballads but became decidedly American in both composition and lyrics. It was the precursor to everything which came after in American music. I hope you enjoy the clarity of the following performance;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BI1N08FEo0