Born in Liberchies, Pont-à-Celles, Belgium into a family of Manouche Gypsies, Jean Reinhardt learned to play several instruments such as the banjo, violin and guitar from an early age; he spent most of his youth in Gypsy encampments close to Paris. His family made a living from crafting furniture, but included several amateur musicians who inspired Reinhardt. Eventually, Reinhardt was given a banjo-guitar, at which point he stopped playing the violin. During this period, he was inspired by two older Gypsy musicians, Gusti Mahla and Jean Castro. Able to make a living from his music from his teen years onwards playing in bal-musette halls in Paris, Reinhardt received little formal education until his adult life; he was taught the rudiments of literacy by fellow band member Stéphane Grappelli.
At the age of eighteen, Reinhardt was injured in a fire that ravaged the caravan he shared with Florine "Bella" Mayer, his first wife. They were very poor, and to supplement their income Bella made imitation flowers out of celluloid and paper; consequently, their home was full of this highly inflammable material. Returning from a performance late one night, Django apparently knocked over a candle on his way to bed. While his family and neighbors were quick to pull him to safety, he received first- and second-degree burns over half his body. His right leg was paralyzed and the third and fourth fingers of his left hand were badly burnt. Doctors believed that he would never play guitar again and intended to amputate one of his legs. Reinhardt refused to have the surgery and left the hospital after a short time; he was able to walk within a year with the aid of a cane.
His brother Joseph Reinhardt, an accomplished guitarist himself, bought Django a new guitar. With painful rehabilitation and practice, Reinhardt relearned his craft in a completely new way, even as his third and fourth fingers remained partially paralyzed. Hence, he played all of his guitar solos with only two fingers, and managed to use the two injured digits only for chord work. After regaining his ability to play, Reinhardt resumed his career playing Parisian cafes. According to one story, during his period of recovery, Reinhardt was introduced to the aesthetics of American jazz when he purchased a 78rpm disc of "Dallas Blues" by Louis Armstrong at an Orléans flea market.
In 1934, Reinhardt and Parisian violinist Stéphane Grappelli were approached by hot club chief Pierre Nourry with the idea of forming a forming a new hot club group. Thus, the Quintette du Hot Club de France was formed, with Reinhardt's brother Joseph and Roger Chaput on guitar, and Louis Vola on double bass. Occasionally, Chaput was replaced by Reinhardt's best friend and fellow Gypsy Pierre "Baro" Ferret. As the group had no true percussion section, percussion was instead provided by the group's guitarists; the Quintette du Hot Club de France thus became one of the few well-known jazz ensembles composed only of string instruments.
Jean Sablon was the first singer to record with the Quintette, resulting in more than thirty collaborations from 1933 onwards. Vocalist Freddy Taylor participated on a few songs, such as "Georgia on My Mind" and "Nagasaki". A long line of recordings for Decca, HMV and Ultraphone ensured long-lasting international success for the Quintette.
As a composer, Reinhardt wrote several influential, highly original tunes recorded by the Quintette, ranging from the dulcet ballads "Daphne", "Nuages", and "Manoir de mes rêves", to mad swingers such as "Minor Swing" and the ode to his record label of the 1930s, "Stomping at Decca". With the passing of time, many of his songs became jazz standards in their own right.
Reinhardt also experimented with recordings outside the "comfort zone" of the Quintette; in March 1933 Reinhardt recorded two takes each of "Parce que je vous aime" and "Si, j'aime Suzy", vocal numbers with lots of guitar fills and great guitar support, using three guitarists along with an accordion lead, violin, and bass. In August of the following year, recordings were also made with more than one guitar (Joseph Reinhardt, Roger Chaput, and Django), including the first recording by the Quintette. In both years, it should be noted, the great majority of recordings featured a wide variety of horns, often in multiples, piano, etc.
Throughout his career, Reinhardt played and recorded with many American jazz legends such as Benny Carter, Coleman Hawkins, Rex Stewart (who later stayed in Paris), and a led a jam-session and radio performance with Louis Armstrong. Later in his career, he performed with Dizzy Gillespie in France.
The outbreak of war in 1939 broke up the Quintette, with Grappelli remaining in London where the group was playing and Reinhardt returning to France. During the war years he led a big band, another quintet with clarinettist Hubert Rostaing in place of Grappelli, and after the liberation of Paris, recorded with such visiting American jazz artists as Mel Powell, Peanuts Hucko, and Ray McKinley. In 1946, Reinhardt took up the electric guitar and toured America as a soloist with the Duke Ellington Band, but his appearances were poorly received.
Some of his recordings on electric guitar late in his life are bop escapades where his playing sounds frantic and jagged, a world apart from the jubilant swing of old. However, starting in January 1946, Reinhardt and Grappelli held several sporadic reunions where the bop influences were more subtly integrated into the old swing format of the glory days of the Quintette. In the 1950s, Reinhardt became more reclusive, remaining in Europe, playing and recording sporadically until his death from a stroke on 16 May 1953 in Fontainebleau, France.
In the Still of the Night
Django Reinhardt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As I gaze out of my window
At the moon in it's flight
My thoughts all stray, stray to you
In the still of the night
While the world lies in slumber
Oh the times without number
Do you love me
Just like I love you
Are you my life to be
That dream come true
Or will this dream of mine
Will it fade way out of sight
Just like that moon growing dim
Way out on the rim of the hill
In the still of the night
The song "In the Still of the Night" by Django Reinhardt is a romantic tune that speaks about the thoughts and feelings of a person lost in love. The lyrics speak of a person looking out of a window at the moon and how their thoughts wander towards their lover. The person is lost in thoughts about whether their feelings are reciprocated and whether their dream of being with their lover will come true. The moon serves as a metaphor for the person's hopes and dreams, with the line "will this dream of mine, will it fade way out of sight" expressing the uncertainty and doubt that the person feels.
The lyrics further suggest that the person is waiting for an answer to their feelings from their lover, with the line "Do you love me, just like I love you?" highlighting the importance of reciprocation in their relationship. The uncertainty and tension of waiting for an answer is expressed through the use of the metaphor of the moon growing dim, adding to the overall melancholic tone of the song.
Overall, the song is a sentimental expression of the anxieties and excitement of love, with the imagery of the moon and the night adding to the emotional weight of the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
In the still of the night
During the quiet hours, when all is calm and peaceful
As I gaze out of my window
While peering through my window, looking out in the distance
At the moon in it's flight
Observing the moon as it moves across the sky
My thoughts all stray, stray to you
My mind wanders, thinking of only you
While the world lies in slumber
While everyone else is sleeping
Oh the times without number
Countless moments
When I say to you
When I ask you
Do you love me
Do you have feelings of adoration towards me
Just like I love you
In the same way that I feel a deep affection towards you
Are you my life to be
Are you the one meant to be my lifelong partner
That dream come true
The embodiment of my deepest wishes and desires
Or will this dream of mine
Or will my hope and aspiration
Will it fade way out of sight
Gradually disappear into nothingness
Just like that moon growing dim
Like the moon losing its brightness in the sky
Way out on the rim of the hill
Far away in the distance
In the still of the night
During the quiet hours, when all is calm and peaceful
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Hoagy Carmichael, Jo Trent
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
alfredo Rovelo
La belleza más conmovedora puede encontrarse en una obra sencilla, armónica y melódicamente simple, y el solo de Django la convierte en única, sublime e inolvidable.
Bic Parker
i'd like this to be played at my funeral. Kinda melancholy, kinda carefree, a beautiful way to say "goodbye".
paul acerno
me too!!
918V
Django had the most incredible vibrato and bends, not to mention sweep picking.
1 truc 2 filles
Ce très beau thème musical a été réorchestré par Philippe Sarde qui l'intégra à la bande originale du film de Claude Sautet "Vincent, François, Paul et les autres..." (1974). Merci pour le partage!
Coding Addiction
Incroyable......!!
Siddy Kay
beautiful.
13adulte
sublime...forcément sublime
muzikifan
sublime
Alexander Bruggisser
sublime(3)