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.
Tisket A Tasket
Django Reinhardt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A green and yellow basket
I bought a basket for my mommie
On the way I dropped it
I dropped it, I dropped it
Yes on the way I dropped it
A little girlie picked it up
And took it to the market
Avenue without a single thing to do
She was peck, peck, peckin' all around
When she spied it on the ground
A-Tisket A-Tasket
She took my yellow basket
And if she doesn't bring it back
I think that I shall die
(Was it red?)
No, no, no, no
(Was it brown?)
No, no, no, no
(Was it blue)
No, no, no, no
Just a little yellow basket
The song "A-Tisket A-Tasket" was written by Ella Fitzgerald based on an original nursery rhyme. The opening lyrics describe a green and yellow basket that the singer bought for her mother but accidentally dropped on the way. She feels anxious and distressed since it was a precious gift for her mom. However, her worries are alleviated when she sees a little girl picking it up and taking it to the market. The singer describes the girl as cheerful and carefree, "trucking on down the avenue without a single thing to do." The girl pokes fun around and eventually finds the basket. The singer then worries if the girl will bring it back to her or not, confessing that she will die if she doesn't get back the basket she bought.
The song's cheerful and upbeat chorus is contrasted with a theme of loss and anxiety in the verses. The original nursery rhyme is about a playful game of basket-swap, but Fitzgerald creates a brilliant twist to the lyrics that turns the whole song into an emotional appeal. The lyrics suggest that the basket represents something of personal importance and the idea that it may be lost is devastating. The song's melody features a fast-paced swing beat, which adds to its overall happy mood.
Line by Line Meaning
A-Tisket A-Tasket
I lost my basket and I'm upset
A green and yellow basket
It was a basket with green and yellow colors
I bought a basket for my mommie
I purchased a basket for my mother
On the way I dropped it
I accidentally dropped the basket while I was on my way
I dropped it, I dropped it
The basket fell from my hands
Yes on the way I dropped it
I did indeed drop it on the way
A little girlie picked it up
A young girl found the basket
And took it to the market
She brought it to the marketplace
She was truckin' on down the Avenue without a single thing to do
The girl was walking with no particular destination in mind
She was peck, peck, peckin' all around
She was wandering aimlessly, looking around
When she spied it on the ground
She saw the basket on the ground
A-Tisket A-Tasket
I lost my basket and I'm upset
She took my yellow basket
The girl picked up my yellow basket
And if she doesn't bring it back
I will be upset if she doesn't return it to me
I think that I shall die
I am being overly dramatic about the loss
(Was it red?)
The color of the basket was not red
(Was it brown?)
The color of the basket was not brown
(Was it blue)
The color of the basket was not blue
No, no, no, no
The color of the basket was not any of the options mentioned
Just a little yellow basket
The basket was small and yellow
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Ella Fitzgerald, Van Alexander
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MartyKay
Cruising thru Lost Heaven with this song is just beautiful ❤
@PirateAdmiral-bx6sx
Same
@DGuitarbite
tears.....what a song......
@Don_Salieri1899
Mafia 1
@PirateAdmiral-bx6sx
Same it's what brought me here
@davidwalker5054
To call django a jazz guitarist is an insult to him he was much more than that he was thee guitarist
@anorexiczebra0809
This is the version that I will always prefer. No offense, Ella!