Biréli Lagrène and The WDR Big Band

When Bireli Lagrene's Routes to Django: Live was issued in 1980, the 13-year-old jazz guitarist was immediately praised by critics as a protégé of Django Reinhardt. For the next five years, Lagrene would mimic Reinhardt's style, even recording versions of the master's "Nuages" and "Djangology." His father had been a prominent guitarist during the 1930s, and Lagrene started playing guitar at four or five. After focusing on Reinhardt's distinct style a few years later, he had absorbed players like Wes Montgomery and Jimi Hendrix by his late teens, and began playing electric guit...