World leading gypsy jazz musicians Stochelo Rosenberg (guitar) and Florin Nicolescu (violin) take Django’s music to another level in Symphonic Django. This fantastic concert was the world première of the first symphonic version of Django’s music, recorded in 5.1 surround audio. A historic jazz film!
SYMPHONIC DJANGO (DVD)
Today, Django Reinhardt´s music is more popular than ever. What was originally a French subculture, developed in the 1980´s not only into a European phenomenon, but further into a global trend. There are now thousands of musicians exploring the magical universe of Django all over the world and Django festivals in more than 50 countries. Jon Larsen’s Hot Club Records has produced several hundred albums with all the legendary musicians in the genre.
Django Reinhardt and his equivalent contemporary Stéphane Grappelli perfected a genuine European jazz style in the legendary Le Quintette du Hot Club de France in the 1930´s. Django gave jazz a European voice, a European expression. His music was influenced by the gypsy society that he originated from, American jazz, and swing music, and the diverse music scene in Paris where he made a name for himself.
But the autodidact guitar genius showed a growing interest for art music throughout his career. Despite his poor reading and writing skills, he left behind a significant number of distinguished compositions which he dreamed of performing in a symphonic setting. More than one of his fingerprint compositions was originally written with a symphonic sound in mind, for instance Manoir de Mes Reves and Diminishing Blackness (worktitled Go tell Mozart). With one exception, a performance of Django Reinhardt´s Bolero complementing Ravel´s famous composition bearing the same name, his symphonic ambitions were never realized, until now. The Symphonic Django is the first ever edition of the legendary Django Reinhardt´s music orchestrated for symphony orchestra.
From artistic director Jon Larsen’s opening speech at the première in Paris: “Thirty years ago I fell in love with the music of Django Reinhardt – the greatest guitar player of all times, but also a wonderful and original composer.
Not only in the unforgettable swing tunes that we all know, but Django had an obvious affinity for orchestral music. However, due to his illiteracy, his strong wish to express himself in the large orchestra format remained a dream. It was not to come true, and Django Reinhardt as a composer is preserved for posterity via his recordings in small combos.
Therefore, ladies and gentlemen, you are tonight about to hear no less than an attempt to fulfill Django’s own vision – his dream about hearing his own compositions, at last, in full symphonic widescreen.”
Spotify: Symphonic Django – the World première. Deezer: Django Symphonique
Audio: 5.1 surround. Produced by Storm Studios, directed Lars Hellebust. Format: NTSC and PAL.