For the first time, all 81 themes and melodies composed by Django Reinhardt are published in a single collection. Transcribed in musical notation as well as Tablature (with the exact chord diagrams as played by the master), by two of the best Django specialists: Jean-Philippe Watremez & Max Robin.
With notes, anecdotes, biographical landmarks, previously unreleased photographs and illustrations, as well as a CD with 22 recordings by Django.
From the Foreword:
Continually tapping into the Gypsy roots of his childhood, Django Reinhardt went on to define the jazz avant-garde of his era. From his early dance-hall waltz performances to the arrival of hot jazz and swing, to say nothing of the various styles of his early career and the symphonic temptations of the war years, Django embraced and re-invented - at times even anticipated - the successive musical upheavals of his time, using his emotions and intuition to interpret them in his own idiom.
His exceptional evolution (of which examples in jazz are rare, only Coltrane and Miles Davis spring to mind) is revealed clearly through his work and especially in that part of his work that bears his signature (notably his rhythmic craftsmanship of themes). It is for this reason we have chosen to present his work chronologically here.
The work of Django is too often undervalued or known only in part. Let us hope this complete work will help mitigate this great paradox.
Hardcover; 31 x 23.5 cm