AotM 3: Django Reinhardt Nuits de Saint Germain/John McLaughlin After the Rain

Setun

Ok so stevejazzx and dasdog, it's up to you guys to introduce these albums this month.

Haven't listened to either of them yet but will pick em up and report back. Anyone else listened to them yet?

dasdog

Django Reinhardt - Nuits de Saint Germain

A collection of recordings from ~1951-53, some enthusiasts of the time were reportedly far from impressed with the use of an electric guitar as a lead instrument. In contrast to the swing style of the 1930's/40's the songs captured here in the final years of Django's life range from the most sombre of tunes such as Troublant Boléro to songs that could be imposed on a mouse strutting its stuff in a Tom & Jerry cartoon.

Amplification plays a major role because soft notes, which were previously only audible to a hunked over musician playing an acoustic, are key to most songs. And the explosive changes in the solo's while fast and confident are mostly short lived because this is music of entertainment more so than technique. The tracks are recorded in the pre-rock n' roll days but the sound must have been hugely influential on guitar players of that approaching era.

The songs have reflection, romaticism and optimism which shine through the crackling of the recording media. The music is evolutionary and it must have been a labour of love for the producers to go through the archive material for this 2003 release.

A minute or so of Troublant Boléro:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvKO0Gqcwi8&feature=related

Setun

Lovely write-up dasdog, have picked up the album myself and despite my curious prejudice about django on electric I am quite enjoying it. I'll have another listen later and post here again in more detail.

Desmo

I bought After the Rain as a re-released CD and it has crap liner notes (either the original had crap notes and these are just repeated here or they have been crapped in re-releasing). This appears to have Elvin Jones (drummer on a pile of John Coltrane's best records) and monster organist Joey De Francesco. It is a gem. It is effectively McLaughlin playing mainly standards (or what are close to standards) with fantastic drumming and huge throbbing organ (hope that gets past the censors) comping and solos and is a revelation. I have maybe 10 McLaughlin albums and have heard him play live a few times but I have never heard him play "ordinary tunes" line this. It is simply fabulous. All of what Stevejazzx said is true (massive organ comping/monster guitar etc.).

The tracks are mainly Coltrane originals like Naima, Crescent, After the Rain (that Elvin Jones played on when they were released by Coltrane) or tracks like Afro Blue or My favourite things which Coltrane made famous recordings of or are about Coltrane (Take the Coltrane by Ellington). This is a great find!!

Setun

A bit later than promised, but a write up for Django:

The opening track, Anouman, is almost like an Ellington melody written for Hodges. Alto saxophone features in the melody with some gentle comping by django into his solo which really shows how far his influence reached in electric guitar jazz - Grant Green and Kenny Burrell for example. The next track is more traditional django, uptempo and madcap. The album continues as such: a great mix of brooding melodies, uptempo dance numbers, and andante swing tunes (Dream of You will have you strutting down Dame Street). Django sounds great on electric in my opinion, but I can understand how that was a hotly contested matter upon this albums release. The album is a curiosity in that sense, but something that you'll find yourself playing more regularly than expected.