Rating: 9/10

Track Amount: 14

Running Time: 45 minutes and 16 seconds

Genre: Acoustic, Swing Music, Gypsy Jazz

Personnel: The Quintette du Hot Club de France (band) with Django Reinhardt (acoustic guitar)

Producer: N/A

Record Label: Parlophone Music France

Recording Location: Various

Art Direction: N/A

Best Tracks: Bolero, Mabel, Taj Mahal

Quick Verdict: Another winning collection of various recordings by Django Reinhardt

Django Reinhardt was a legendary guitarist from France (although originally born in Belgium) who, despite suffering a paralytic injury in his fretting hand early in life, managed to overcome his disability and become one of the most legendary and underrated guitarists to have ever lived. In 1934, nearly 100 years ago at the time of writing, he formed The Quintette du Hot Club de France band in France and pioneered his own brand of Gypsy Jazz Swing Music. His incredible guitar playing inspired generations of future guitarists, notably playing guitar with his pinky finger unusable and his ring finger only partly usable. Still, this did not stop Django Reinhardt from making some classic songs and amazing music. This compilation focuses on early works by Django Reinhardt and his bandmates, recorded way back in 1937. This is one of the many releases in the series of Djangologie albums that cover the lifespan of Django Reinhardt’s musical works. Let’s take a listen to this release, and we shall hear if it is a memorable one.

1. Somebody Loves Me begins with slow and sweet acoustic guitar playing, which sounds great. This quickly launches into a smooth and awesome-sounding tune with some jazz-based instrumentation and performance by the band. Django Reinhardt is a true expert of this old-fashioned sounding Jazz Music that will take your mind back to pre-Internet days and a simpler, happier time in Western civilisation. A really awesome listen throughout that sounds classy and timeless. This tune sure is a winner of a listen. A sensationally good listen that chugs along nicely like an old steam train. This is really great music to listen to. Django Reinhardt and his mates play an excellent and gorgeously divine song. Absolutely excellent to hear, and a very brilliant listen throughout. This music is far better than anything on the radio today. A classic tune.

2. I Can’t Believe That You’re In Love With Me begins with some odd chords and launches into a downtempo piece that is pure old-fashioned romanticism at large. A really great listen, this music sounds just pleasant and lovely throughout. Some things were undoubtedly better back in the 1930s, amidst the horrors of the Great Depression and World War II. Even so, this lovely music is a fantastic listen throughout, and it just sounds really great to hear. The smooth, sweet and tasteful playing is intelligent and pretty enough to listen to for hours on end. A really refreshing listen in the history of music. An awesome and divine tune that is sensationally awesome. Well done, all. The ending has some truly great melodies on violin and guitar to conclude with. Joyous music.

3. Minor Swing features Stephane Grappelli and the Quintette du Hot Club de France. It begins with some sweet violin and a double bass single note being plucked, followed in fairly quick succession by a wonderful and gorgeous piece of music at hand. This sounds superb, wonderful and delightful throughout. It has a chugging rhythm section and some awesome acoustic guitar playing to match it all. This music is super sweet, melodic and superb to listen to. It truly is masterful music that Jazz fans and other intelligent fans of music will understand, even if they don’t like it. It is seriously good to hear, and it sounds really awesome throughout. The violin solo is also tasteful. Really very cool music to hear. This is a great and sensational sound from way back in the 1930s. A very awesome listen. Worth it to hear it today. The band approves of it at the end as well.

4. Viper’s Dream features the Quintette du Hot Club de France. It begins with some very sweet and upbeat guitar work, with the band following in quick succession. Needless to say, this sounds amazing and brilliant throughout. The music at hand is very magical and extremely well done. It sounds fresh and hot out of the kitchen. An absolutely pretty, magical and awesome tune to listen to. Period. The violin playing throughout is also amazingly good to listen to. This sounds like a very sweet mixture and combination of music and sounds to listen to. Very, very nice indeed. Django Reinhardt and his bandmates certainly could make some magical music for generations to come to enjoy. An absolutely awesome and heartwarming listen from beginning to end. A nice listen overall as well. Worthy of your time and ears, the acoustic soloing at the end is sweet.

5. Fiddle’s Blues has some fantastic playing from the entire group. It sounds sweet and upbeat, once again, showcasing a positivity and beauty musically that was unmatched by many other musicians, even to this very day. The music and performances are stunningly good to listen to, and the violin and fiddles throughout are absolutely awesome. The guitar soloing by Django Reinhardt is also very classy to listen to. An absolute winner of a tune that sounds, plays and is truly great throughout for all ears to hear. The mixture of instrumentation towards the end is as fine as the best vintage wine to have. Awesome. The outro is chilled.

6. Interpretation swing 1er mvt concerto re meniur begins with sweet strings and launches into another solid gold piece of music that sounds deliciously expressive and fantastic to listen to. A really sensationally great tune that has colour, vibrancy and finesse throughout. This is some of the best music from 1937 that many have missed out on. Not to worry, you can always dig out and listen to this wonderful release. It sounds absolutely top-notch and fine to listen to. This is a serious winner of a tune that sounds certainly old-fashioned, but not old in terms of its appeal. Majestic.

7. Improvisation sur le 1er mvt concerto re mineur is a piece beginning with a lone guitar, and quickly followed by some upbeat and jazz-based instrumentation to match it all. It sounds really fantastic to listen to. Period. This music is a great example of exactly how music could be great in an age where computers and digital editing did not exist. Django Reinhardt pulls out all the guitar chops that anyone could ever ask for, and he does with finesse and style. A truly awesome listen that will take you places. The second half has some loud guitar work and violin, and fiddle battling it out for attention. A truly brilliant listen throughout. Very wonderful to hear. An awesome and upbeat piece of music that is a genuine celebration of the past. Top stuff to hear. Very wonderful overall.

8. Swinging With Django features Stephane Grappelli, the Quintette du Hot Club de France and Michel Warlop. It begins with some neat duelling acoustic guitars and playing that sounds absolutely awesome to hear. This quickly and dramatically evolves into a neat and sweet tune. Like wearing a tuxedo suit, this album makes you feel as though you have real class upon listening to it all. A really great and interesting listen throughout that just sounds superb. The emotionally upbeat and charged soloing by all instrumentation makes for a very solid listen. Django Reinhardt knew how to make great tunes. A sensational and beautiful, upbeat listening experience from start to finish. Very wonderful indeed. Worth hearing, especially for the acoustic guitar soloing towards the end.

9. Paramount Stomp is a rich-sounding and slightly downtempo listen from before. Nonetheless, it does sound really great to listen to. The musicianship and performances are totally spot on to listen to here. It sounds like a euphoric and joyous ode from the past that is completely different from the music of today. Still, it sounds seriously great to listen to throughout. An awesome and timeless tune that brings together energy, soul and classiness into music. The fiddle and violin parts also sound great on this piece. Very wonderful music indeed to listen to and to enjoy. Awesome music throughout.

10. Bolero features the Quintette du Hot Club de France. It begins very slowly with some neat acoustic guitar parts that sound fantastic. Soon enough, some James Bond-style sounds emerge from the band, which are both eerie and excellent. This music is super cool and interesting to listen to. It sounds like the sort of thing that the 007 film Thunderball had on its film soundtrack. Soon enough, this continues into a dramatic and fantastic-sounding tune with dramatic guitars and string sections to boot. This music is very solidly good overall, and it sets the scene for the future of music in a structured fashion. Nonetheless, this is very awesome to hear. A really great tune to listen to and to be inspired by. A really, very awesome and tuneful listen throughout. It has some neat acoustic guitar soloing towards the end, and sounds very, very cool indeed. Very dramatic and sweet to hear. This has some repeated melodies throughout that sound very unique. It sounds like a film soundtrack, especially towards the end.

11. Mabel features the Quintette du Hot Club de France. It begins with some unusual and craftily selected call-and-response melodies on this one. Soon enough, it launches into a good, old-fashioned and awesome tune that sounds descriptively awesome and very good indeed. This music is seriously a magical listen and sounds very well done. This music is perfect for that candlelit dinner with steak well done and wine with your lover. It sounds sweet, awesome and tremendously good. An absolutely divine and awesome listen throughout, this music will take the mind to places that you have never been before. Indeed, no doubt that this music continues to inspire many today in the world of music. All in all, this sounds really impressive. The horns and guitars in the second half really do sound amazing, classy and bold. Definitely one of the more memorable pieces from this collection of Django Reinhardt music pieces. A really top-notch piece of music, period. It gets subtle towards the end after a “Shh!” is heard. Awesome music. The ending is glorious.

12. My Serenade begins with some neat acoustic guitar playing and harmonics, quickly launching into a slower, more subdued piece of music that sounds really superb. This sounds downtempo, yet expertly played by Django Reinhardt. The music present is really great. It sounds super fresh, exciting and interesting to listen to. The guitar work in particular on this track is sensationally good to listen to. This is a more relaxing piece of music from this album that sounds really spot on and fluid throughout. Django plays like a real man on a mission. He plays acoustic guitar in an original, solidly cool and fantastic way. Another magical listen by a superb virtuoso of the guitar. Excellent.

13. Serenade For A Wealthy Widow is a humorous song title, if there were ever one. It has some sweet piano playing, followed quickly by the band playing along very nicely. A clarinet is also prominent in this piece. A really awesome and sweet listen throughout that takes the mind back to much simpler and, in some ways, better times. A really top-notch and awesome piece of music, once again to listen to. It sounds very dramatic and inspired musically, with every single melody sounding effortless. The piano soloing then returns towards the midsection, before this launches right back into action, once again. A really very inspired and cool tune to listen to. This music is really cool to hear. It demands sunglasses to be heard with. The piano solo motif returns before this wraps up. Sensationally awesome music to hear.

14. Taj Mahal features Michel Warlop and is the final tune on this release. It begins with some decidedly Eastern-sounding acoustic guitar playing, and it enters into a sweet and relaxing listen that sounds simply pretty. This music is really cool to hear, and it sounds sweet and nice with extra spice. This music is truly in a class of its own. It sounds wonderfully melodically beautiful and is a musical adventure through history and time. A great and grand composition is present here, and it sounds really beautiful. Very nice indeed to hear. This music has magic and power to it all, just sounding really awesome and powerfully beautiful to listen to. A fine finish to a fine album release that delivers the goods. Very well done to all. A nice and lovely tune to listen to. The string section gets prominent towards the end, followed by a fantastic acoustic guitar finish.

This release is a must-have for every aspiring guitarist. More importantly, it is a beautiful and picturesque snapshot of a music era long gone, but not forgotten. Django Reinhardt and his friends play some superb songs, and this is one of his best retrospective releases. His fluid guitar work and playing sound absolutely fantastic. Should you listen to this release? Yes, if you want to hear something good that is completely different. Fans of heavier music styles will not enjoy this, however.