Quintet of the Hot Club of France

Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhart were jamming buddies at the same clubs when they struck upon the idea of forming the Quintet of the Hot Club of France. They were some of the first Europeans to really affect the jazz scene, influenced heavily by the work of Eddie South and the Eddie Lang/Joe Venuti sessions of the '20s. Reinhardt, a gypsy who hailed from Belgium, was a hot-tempered guitarist who had been injured in a fire as a young man. This left him with two fingers missing, but a unique playing style due to his need to adapt. Grappelli was a French violinist who never...