The Classic Early Recordings In Chronological Order

If it was as good quality as the other CDs in this series, it would easily earn 7 stars! Unfortunately the CD with the most famous recordings (Honeysuckle Rose, Swweet Georgia Brown, Night and Day, My Sweet, Souvenirs, Daphne etc.), Disc B (1938-1939) is unplayable on my Denon system. I will just have to order another box! So do check them all when you get yours.

This British label JSP is one incredible outfit: they put out the best jazz in comprehensive sets with terrific sound and at prices that make you wonder if there might be something wrong with them. Let me assure you, there's nothing wrong with this 5-CD set of early recordings from swing guitarist Django Reinhardt. In fact, everything is right -- I have heard many CDs of Reinhardt's music from this period, and they all sound as if they were being played through mud compared to the sound on these discs. Listening to them felt like discovering Django's incredible sound for first time. Sound engineer Ted Kendall deserves a medal for the work he did here. If you love Django, you MUST buy these discs. If you're just discovering him or are curious about him, the low price should be enough to pull you in. Take the chance!Django Reinhardt was one of the most stunning soloists in jazz history, on any instrument. He swung so hard that most other musicians couldn't keep up with him. The only man who could really swing right along with Django was his frequent partner, violinist Stepahne Grapelli. Together they formed the core of the The Quintette of the Hot Club of France, which performs most of the recordings on these five CDs. But there are also selections of Django playing solo, Django and Grapelli performing duets, and some interesting "guest star" recordings with saxophone players Coleman Hawkins and Alix Combille.There's a wealth of genius spread over these five discs. Disc One covers 1934-35, when the Quintette was born and started immediately producing classics like "Tiger Rag," "I Saw Stars," "Blue Drag" (one of Reinhardt's great originals), and "Djangology." There are a few performances with an underwhelming vocalist, and some tracks with a larger group that includes trumpets and trombones (the recording of "Smoke Rings" is especially nice.) Disc Two jumps out of chronological order and collects the 1938 and 1939 recordings for Decca in London. Django goes solo on a few tracks here, and the Quintette tears it up on "Honeysuckle Rose" and "Daphne" (another Reinhardt-Grapelli original classic). One of the delights I had never heard before is a version of the popular American song "The Flat Foot Floogee."Disc Three switches over to the 1938-39 Decca recordings from Paris. This is the weakest disc, partially because so many of the tracks have multiple takes so there is less variety, and partially because the sound sources available are poor. (The engineer does the best job possible on them, however.) We do get some great tracks, like "Tea for Two" (done three times!) and "Time on My Hands." Disc Four leaps backs in time to the Decca and HMV recordings from 1935 to 1937. The recordings made with Coleman Hawkins are sensational: "Blue Moon," "Avalon," and "What a Difference a Day Made." The sound quality here is a revelation. There are also tracks with a superb singer, Freddy Taylor, who meshes well with the Quintette. Other Django performance classics on this dics are "I Got Rhythm," "Swing Guitars," and "Limehouse Blues."The last disc is the strongest, collecting HMV sessions from 1937 (all done in one week!) and a bizarre session in which Django joins Garnet Clark's Hot Club's Four. The HMV pieces are amongst Django's best: "You're Driving Me Crazy," "Ain't Misbehaving," "The Sheik of Araby." One of the real stunners is "Mystery Pacific," where Django imitates a train with his guitar in a solo that must have caused his fingers to catch fire! Django also goes solo on two tracks, giving the listener another chance to listen carefully to his technique.It's impossible to go wrong with this set. For this low price, you get hours of the best of Django Reinhardt and the Quintette, all sounding better than ever before. Django's music will live forever, regardless of sound quality, but it's wonderful to finally have all of his music collected together and treated with the sonic dignity that it deserves. If you like what you hear (and you will), purchase the follow-up JSP set, "Paris and London," which continues Django Reinhardt through 1948.

Django Reinhardt, "The Gypsy Guitarist," is a master of mood music, a virtuoso on the guitar equal to anyone before or since. His music is the perfect antidote to the late-night, alone-in-the-city blues; it can help you escape the troubles of today by transporting you back to a time with different troubles, back to a time long before most of us were born, back to the late 1930s, when jazz was as cutting edge as Radiohead is today.Many of the songs here are instrumental tracks, with Django's deft guitar work effortlessly intermingling with the other members of his famed Quintet. Three acoustic guitars, a string bass and a violin never sounded so good; the instruments dance around one another with the delicacy and grace of a ballet troupe. On the vocal tracks, the lyrics and stylings are simple but effective. These tracks are songs about timeless things--falling in love, dancing with the most beautiful girl in the room, and the like--with lyrics written before lyrics had to be ironic and hip and cool. If they came on Top-40 radio today they would sound corny and fake even by Top-40 standards, but on these discs they feel true and heartfelt and real.This set, which covers Django's early career from 1934 to 1939, would seem to be the perfect introduction to his work--it boasts a comprehensive set of tracks, remastered to the point that they sound great but not to the point that they sound sterile and lifeless. An essential part of any CD collection from this period is that ever-so-slight hiss and crackle, so quiet as to be almost unnoticeable, the little bit of noise that tricks your brain into thinking you're listening to a new phonograph and not an old CD player. Some collections have too much of that noise and others have not enough; some have too much on some tracks and not enough on others, so that they feel haphazard, sloppy, and thrown together. Not this set, though--the tracks flow together seamlessly, smoothly enough that you forget all the work that must have gone into making this collection sound so darn good.The only minor quibble that comes to mind is that, on disc 3, the compilers frequently put alternate takes of the same song back-to-back on the disc. It's ever so slightly off-putting; alternate takes are seldom a good idea and serve very little purpose other than to take up space and to make the listener scratch his or her head and say "Didn't I hear that already?" on their first listen.But that truly is a quibble, especially with a collection so reasonably priced. Great songs, wonderful instrumentals, and a vibe that takes you to a time you've never been--this set would be a steal at twice the price.

I'd heard the name Django Reinhardt but knew nothing about his music...bought this CD on a flyer. What a delight! Reinhardt on guitar and Stephen Grappelli on violin do amazingly intricate, energetic and inventive work together. And how amazing that recordings from nearly 90 years ago can sound so crisp and clean. Joe Pass has long been my favorite jazz guitarist, but Reinhardt easily steps into first place for me (not that it's a contest...there's room for all). After listening through the entire boxed set a couple times, I bought the Postwar Recordings as well, which is equally as pleasurable. I can't recommend them highly enough.

I liked the fact that these discs featured virtually all of Django's pre bebop material. The only annoying thing was the recordings were not in chronological order through discs A to E. The sleeve notes were comprehensive and better than usual in that all the dates and line-ups were detailed plus two pages of comment on each disc. Strongly recommended.

Hi folks,Absolutely brilliant and great value to! Nothing else to say really!Best,Paul David Seaman (UK)

All I expected. A magnificent collection that sits alongside my Venuti/Lang collection. A marvellous bargain for anyone who loves the fiddle and guitar in jazz..

Great value - you get 5 CD's totalling 124 tracks in all.Superb quality and for the money you can't go wrong.Django Reinhardt was a genius.

Just the greatest