Django: The Life and Music of a Gypsy Legend

This utterance comes halfway through Michael Dregni's book, and it's one of maybe 50 direct quotes by Django Reinhardt drizzled over 280 pages. Self-conscious about his lack of education, Reinhardt didn't like talking to "gadjé." He is known to have written three letters in his life, and the most extended quote is bogus: an "interview" concocted by an impresario to defame a rival.It has to be quite a challenge for a biographer to work with so little material. And yet Dregni does an excellent job. While by necessity he has to rely on external testimony and events to make his portrayal, his focus is always on Reinhardt and the extraordinary contradictions of the man: one night dining with royalty, the next night stealing a chicken on a country road; living in a luxury hotel one week, a caravan the next; over-generosity alternating with infuriating pettiness; turning one gig into an all-night jam session, not bothering to show up for the next. You think you know Bohemian? This is Bohemian.Of course, Django was only verbally reticent. Musically, he is one of the most articulate, expressive players ever. So it's the musical parts of this book that really shine. Partly because of the nationalism of his promoters who wanted to push a French jazz musician, but mostly because of his magical talent (and in spite of a tendency to sleep later than recording session schedules), Reinhardt's output was vast and varied. As I imagine is true for many, I knew the Quintette/Grapelli recordings to the exclusion of almost everything else. So I especially appreciated the discussions of his later career: the weird fact that during the Occupation, when jazz was officially verboten, he achieved his greatest popularity, and his enthusiasm for bebop, which I've always thought he anticipated with his angular, superfast playing.In the endnotes are many mentions of "interview with author, 2001/2/3..." Aside from the documentary research, Dregni deserves special gratitude for contacting people who knew Reinhardt and who will probably not be around much longer. His efforts have doubtless uncovered facts that, because of the large part of Reinhardt's life that exists only in the oral tradition, would certainly have been lost without them.Django Reinhardt, one of the more remarkable and mysterious characters of his time, deserves a first-rate biography. This is it.

I have long admired the music of Django Reinhardt, but I didn't know much about him until I read Michael Dregni's fantastic book. The author not only told the fascinating story of an incredible musician, but provided a wealth of information about the people in Django's life, such as his famous musical partner, Stephane Grappelli, as well as important figures in the jazz scene in France, like Charles Delauney. Django was quite a character, who spent money as fast as it came in, bought expensive cars and abandoned them by the side of the rode when they broke down. World War II was also a very interesting time for Django. Jazz music was viewed as subversive by the Nazis, but was allowed to be played in certain circumstances. The gypsies were also hunted by the Nazis, but because Django was such a famous jazz musician, he was virtually left alone.While the book was very fun and engaging, there were times that I felt like the author spent a lot of time giving background information to set up events in Django's life. And while this information was helpful, it sometimes felt like I was reading a biography about someone else. It all came together, though, and gave a very detailed account of Django's life that made me excited about the man and his music. As I read the book, I was so excited that I kept going into the iTunes store to listen to the music as it was mentioned by the author.I think I'll go buy a gypsy guitar now and start swinging!

. . . and it's unlikely that it will ever be surpassed.Django Reinhardt is an icon to many guitarists. The story of a Gypsy with only two fully functional fingers on his left hand becoming one of the world's greatest Jazz guitarists has been told over and again but Dregni has taken the time to dig deeper and learn more about Django not only as a musician but also within the context of the life of a European Gypsy. It's obvious that this book, along with Dregni's similar book  Gypsy Jazz: In Search of Django Reinhardt and the Soul of Gypsy Swing  are labors of love for Dregni who has written on a variety of subjects but obviously has a great affinity for Django and the music he was most associated with.As a result of that affinity the reader is treated to a biography that in both scope and detail exceeds  Django Reinhardt  the biography written by Charles Delaunay, the man that discovered Django and helped to establish him as a fixture in the French Jazz scene.Now there's only so much material available about Django but Dregni fleshes this out with insights into the world that Django was born into, the culture and circumstances of Gypsies living in France early in the 20th century. I came away from the reading of this book with a lot of information about Gypsy culture and it certainly gives insight into the man himself.I strongly recommend this biography for anyone interested in Django and his music. I've read pretty much everything I could find about Django and this book truly stands out. The other books told me about the things Django did, this book told me about him as a person.

I really enjoyed reading this book, even though I’m not particularly a jazz fan, nor do I own any recordings of the man himself. The book doesn’t get too bogged down in the technicalities of the music, and majors on Django’s life, either wandering Europe in his gypsy caravan, or living anywhere from dilapidated wooden shacks to chic apartments. Consequently, it is as much a 20th century history book as it is about a musical genius. Highly recommended.

This is almost a day-to-day commentary on Django's life and some of it is not very flattering. But what an interesting man and what a guitarist. I also learned more about the wartime Occupation of France in general and Paris in particular than I have from any military history book. I also learned about a guitarist from Argentina called Oscar Aleman whom I had never heard of and bought a CD of him - wonderful. A better biography of Django will not, could not, be written.

Bought it as birthday present for daughter’s boyfriend who’s a professional Gypsy jazz guitarist and he think it’s fabulous

Absolutely fascinating insight into the life and times of possibly the greatest guitar player who ever took up the instrument. The amount of research that has obviously gone into the making of this book is almost overwhelming and it shines a light not just on Django, but on his contemporaries, his rivals, his friends and the circumstances surrounding his rise to fame. A great read, especially for Django fans!

Very good book