Django Reinhardt

Lore & Background

With violinist Stéphane Grappelli, Reinhardt formed the Paris-based Quintette du Hot Club de France in 1934. The group was among the first to play jazz that featured the guitar as a lead instrument. Reinhardt recorded in France with many visiting American musicians, including Coleman Hawkins and Benny Carter, and briefly toured the United States with Duke Ellington's orchestra in 1946. He died suddenly of a brain hemorrhage in 1953 at the age of 43.

Reinhardt was a Belgian-born jazz guitarist and composer of Manouche Romani descent, widely regarded as one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe. His appearance was marked by the severe burns he suffered at age 17, when a fire engulfed his caravan after he knocked over a candle. The accident left him with extensive scarring over half his body and permanently damaged the fourth and fifth fingers of his left hand, forcing him to relearn the guitar using primarily his index and middle fingers for melody, while the injured fingers were used only for chord work. He walked with a cane for the rest of his life. His range as a musician spanned from early Romani-influenced folk to the pioneering gypsy jazz he helped create, and his compositions—such as "Minor Swing," "Daphne," and "Nuages"—became enduring standards. He spent most of his youth in Romani encampments near Paris, living a hand-to-mouth existence and busking in cafés from age 15. His defining characteristics include his innovative lead guitar technique, his role in making the guitar a central instrument in jazz, and his profound influence on nearly every major popular music guitarist worldwide. Annual Django festivals are now held across Europe and the United States.

Reader's Guide

Reinhardt’s playing style was forged by a catastrophic caravan fire in 1928, which left the fourth and fifth fingers of his left hand badly burned. During an eighteen-month recovery, he retaught himself to play guitar using primarily his index and middle fingers, reserving the two damaged digits only for chord work. This forced adaptation produced a distinctive, fluid technique that became central to his sound. In 1934, he co-founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France with violinist Stéphane Grappelli, a group notable for being among the first to feature the guitar as a lead instrument in jazz. The ensemble recorded extensively, and Reinhardt’s own compositions—such as “Minor Swing,” “Daphne,” “Belleville,” “Djangology,” “Swing ’42,” and “Nuages”—became enduring standards within the gypsy jazz tradition. He also recorded in France with visiting American jazz figures including Coleman Hawkins and Benny Carter, and in 1946 he briefly toured the United States with Duke Ellington’s orchestra. His influence has been profound: guitarist Frank Vignola has stated that nearly every major popular music guitarist worldwide has been shaped by Reinhardt’s work. Annual Django festivals now take place across Europe and the United States, and a biography of his life has been published. In 2017, the Berlin International Film Festival premiered a French biographical film, *Django*, based on his life. Reinhardt died suddenly of a brain hemorrhage in 1953 at age forty-three.

Did You Know?

• Reinhardt was born on 23 January 1910 in Liberchies, Pont-à-Celles, Belgium, into a French family of Manouche Romani descent.
• At age 17, he married Florine 'Bella' Mayer according to Romani custom.
• After a caravan fire in 1928, doctors recommended amputation of his badly damaged right leg, but Reinhardt refused and eventually walked with a cane.
• The fourth and fifth fingers of his left hand were badly burned; he retaught himself to play guitar using primarily his index and middle fingers.
• He met Stéphane Grappelli in 1931 and formed the Quintette du Hot Club de France in 1934.