Django Reinhardt

All of Django’s recordings of songs by the great American composers George Gershwin and Duke Ellington.
Compiled from various sessions in Django’s discography, these selections feature a wide variety of accompaniment and arrangements. The common thread between them all, however, is Django’s incomparable improvisational genius. All of the preserved recordings from a 1946 Chicago concert showcasing Django with the Ellington band have also been included here, as well as both takes of Django’s composition paying tribute to Duke.

Includes 12-page booklet


The GEORGE GERSHWIN Songbook:

01 LADY BE GOOD [1934] 2:55
02 I GOT RHYTHM [1937] 2:16
03 THE MAN I LOVE [1949] 3:16
04 LIZA [1949] 2:49
05 I GOT RHYTHM [1949] 2:43
06 LADY BE GOOD [1937] 3:19
07 EMBRACEABLE YOU 3:08
08 SOMEBODY LOVES ME 3:29
09 LADY BE GOOD [1948] 2:56
10 LIZA [1946] 2:52
11 I GOT RHYTHM [1935] 2:57
12 THE MAN I LOVE [1939] 3:12
13 I GOT RHYTHM [1938, take 1] 2:55
14 I GOT RHYTHM [1938, take 2] 2:59

The DUKE ELLINGTON Songbook:

15 C JAM BLUES [1950] 3:36
16 SOPHISTICATED LADY 4:04
17 IN A SENTIMENTAL MOOD 3:01
18 SOLITUDE 3:11
19 C JAM BLUES [1949] 2:36
20 RIDE, RED, RIDE 2:46
21 A BLUES RIFF 3:50
22 HONEYSUCKLE ROSE 3:39
23 IMPROVISATION No.7
[aka Improvisation No.2] 2:49
24 DUKE AND DUKIE [take 1] 3:18
25 DUKE AND DUKIE [take 2] 3:22

DJANGO REINHARDT, guitar soloist on all tracks, plus:

Collective personnel:
Stéphane Grappelli, Eddie South (vln), Duke Ellington (p), Dickie Wells (tb), André Ekyan, Hubert Rostaing (cl), Larry Adler (hca), Joseph Reinhardt, Pierre “Baro” Ferret, Marcel Bianchi (g), and Louis Vola (b), among others. All tracks recorded in Paris, France, 1934-1950, except 20-23 (Chicago, 1946)