Customer Reviews

Classic Early Recordings in Chronogical Order

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This British label JSP is one incredible outfit: they put out the best jazz in comprehensive sets with terrific sound and at prices that make you wonder if there might be something wrong with them. Let me assure you, there's nothing wrong with this 5-CD set of early recordings from swing guitarist Django Reinhardt. In fact, everything is right -- I have heard many CDs of Reinhardt's music from this period, and they all sound as if they were being played through mud compared to the sound on these discs. Listening to them felt like discovering Django's incredible sound for first time. Sound engineer Ted Kendall deserves a medal for the work he did here. If you love Django, you MUST buy these discs. If you're just discovering him or are curious about him, the low price should be enough to pull you in. Take the chance!

Django Reinhardt was one of the most stunning soloists in jazz history, on any instrument. He swung so hard that most other musicians couldn't keep up with him. The only man who could really swing right along with Django was his frequent partner, violinist Stepahne Grapelli. Together they formed the core of the The Quintette of the Hot Club of France, which performs most of the recordings on these five CDs. But there are also selections of Django playing solo, Django and Grapelli performing duets, and some interesting "guest star" recordings with saxophone players Coleman Hawkins and Alix Combille.

There's a wealth of genius spread over these five discs. Disc One covers 1934-35, when the Quintette was born and started immediately producing classics like "Tiger Rag," "I Saw Stars," "Blue Drag" (one of Reinhardt's great originals), and "Djangology." There are a few performances with an underwhelming vocalist, and some tracks with a larger group that includes trumpets and trombones (the recording of "Smoke Rings" is especially nice.) Disc Two jumps out of chronological order and collects the 1938 and 1939 recordings for Decca in London. Django goes solo on a few tracks here, and the Quintette tears it up on "Honeysuckle Rose" and "Daphne" (another Reinhardt-Grapelli original classic). One of the delights I had never heard before is a version of the popular American song "The Flat Foot Floogee."

Disc Three switches over to the 1938-39 Decca recordings from Paris. This is the weakest disc, partially because so many of the tracks have multiple takes so there is less variety, and partially because the sound sources available are poor. (The engineer does the best job possible on them, however.) We do get some great tracks, like "Tea for Two" (done three times!) and "Time on My Hands." Disc Four leaps backs in time to the Decca and HMV recordings from 1935 to 1937. The recordings made with Coleman Hawkins are sensational: "Blue Moon," "Avalon," and "What a Difference a Day Made." The sound quality here is a revelation. There are also tracks with a superb singer, Freddy Taylor, who meshes well with the Quintette. Other Django performance classics on this dics are "I Got Rhythm," "Swing Guitars," and "Limehouse Blues."

The last disc is the strongest, collecting HMV sessions from 1937 (all done in one week!) and a bizarre session in which Django joins Garnet Clark's Hot Club's Four. The HMV pieces are amongst Django's best: "You're Driving Me Crazy," "Ain't Misbehaving," "The Sheik of Araby." One of the real stunners is "Mystery Pacific," where Django imitates a train with his guitar in a solo that must have caused his fingers to catch fire! Django also goes solo on two tracks, giving the listener another chance to listen carefully to his technique.

It's impossible to go wrong with this set. For this low price, you get hours of the best of Django Reinhardt and the Quintette, all sounding better than ever before. Django's music will live forever, regardless of sound quality, but it's wonderful to finally have all of his music collected together and treated with the sonic dignity that it deserves. If you like what you hear (and you will), purchase the follow-up JSP set, "Paris and London," which continues Django Reinhardt through 1948.

Even if this weren't such a great deal (and it is!), this belongs on every jazz collector's shelf. Simply the best overview of Django's oeuvre, with astonishing, soaring, magical (daring even!) virtuosity by the guitar master and his counterpart on the violin, Stephan Grappelly.

Considering the price, and that no one had yet reviewed it here, I was skeptical about the quality--but the sound is fine! There was a little too much chug-chugging accompaniment on the first CD, but this was apparently the style (listen to some early Ellington), and the rhythm section loosens up more later.

It's true that there is no bound booklet as we've come to expect from box sets, but I was pleased to see informative liner notes and credits with each CD. Much of the music is taken directly from the 78s of such noted archivists as Robert Parker and John R. T. Davies. Ted Kendall (the remastering engineer and force behind this compilation) notes that he "removed as much extraneous noise as possible without cutting into the music but have otherwise attempted no 'enhancement' of the sound--it would only obstruct the music anyway." Good decision!

Whether you've been a longtime fan or discovered Django Reinhardt through Woody Allen's "Sweet and Lowdown," this is an immensely enjoyable collection. Buy it soon!

For someone like me who loves every note Django Reinhardt ever played this 5-CD collection and another 4-CD set also available on Amazon.com, "Django Reinhardt Volume 2: Paris & London 1937-1948," are the Holy Grail. Between the two sets I can load up the CD player with 9 discs and listen to this most unbelievable of all guitar players show off for hours at a time.

There is more swing, more fun, and more incredible guitar playing on these discs than you'll ever hear anywhere else.

This set holds a lead over "Volume Two" because of the inclusion of the amazing fifth CD, where you will find great versions of "You're Driving Me Crazy" and "Tears," the heavenly "Solitude," and what I consider the greatest Reinhardt recording of all, "Liebestraum No. 3." In a 9-CD set covering decades of recordings, "Liebestraum No. 3" stands out as the absolute masterpiece of an absolute master.

Even though they contain no lengthy linear notes, 'free booklets,' posters, etc., these are, without a doubt, the greatest multi-disc box sets I have ever heard.

Newly introduced to the wonders of Django Reinhardt, I first shied away from this release in favor of postwar recordings for fear that the sound and the style of this earlier music might be a bit off-putting to a person not accustomed to music before the 1950s.

Not to worry. The technical sound of these discs is thoroughly amazing, with surprisingly clear and deep bass and usually excellent clarity to Django's guitar and Grappelly's violin. Musically, there are many wonderful originals such as "Blue Drag," "Swing from Paris" and "Appel Direct." I find the originals are often my favorites. Old warhorses such as "Charleston" and "Ain't Misbehavin'" are made fresh and new, something I thought impossible. Fortunately, there are not very many vocal tracks--as the singer merely gets in the way in my opinion.

The price of this set is as close to free as you can get for a five disc collection.

Buy this set. If you fear being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of material, simply introduce yourself to it gradually, disc by disc. But be prepared to be overwhelmed by the wonderfulness of the music.

Since the next JSP box-set of Django stuff is released tomorrow (5/8/01) I thought I should finally get around to writing my review of this marvelous box-set now.

JSP continues to set the standard for pre-war jazz remasters. It's gotten to the point where I always question myself about purchasing pre-war releases on other labels. The question in my head being "Pharoah, if you buy this other-label cd now, you may be wasting your money because if JSP releases this stuff a year from now it will sound better and cost less from them".

All the "sonic problems" with this set of Django remasters can and should be attributed to the original engineers. I don't know why, but I feel that the European sound engineers did somewhat of a disservice to this great music. They either had lower quality equipment or lower technical standards than did their American counterparts. For instance, Lonnie Johnson's Okeh sides from the late 1920s and early '30s are quite full and rich, and Lonnie's guitar tone is ever-present. Only in the upper percentile of Django recordings does his tone sound so full, and that is the fault of the people who were recording him. Ted Kendall and JSP deserve every gratiude and praise for how great this box-set sounds.

Thankfully, the power of this band transcends these sonic quality issues. If you're a fan of "string swing" it will be impossible not to have many moments of pure bliss while listening to this set. Stephane Grappelly (violin) was indeed a master of this style of music, but I still feel it's Django who steals the show time and again. It would be pointless to point to, and comment on various performance highlights since this is a 5-disc set and there are so many highlights, so I will just say that if you are curious to hear Django then this is the set to purchase. If you're an experienced, long-time fan then this is also the set to buy. It will be a sonic upgrade for you veterans (as well as some previously unreleased material) and it is cheap enough that even you Django Newbies do not have to worry about making a major investment in a 5-disc box-set because this 5-disc box-set costs less than 2 regular cds.

Quite simply, after I bought this cd my other issues of this material were made obsolete and have since been sold back to the used-cd store.

I'd just like to thank JSP Records for another wonderful boxset of pre-war music , at an incredibly cheap price .

The compiling of these tracks have certainly been a labour of love , as those involved have painstakingly searched for the best source of material for the remastering , but it's been worth it , as the sound is superb ( sound engineer Ted Kendall deserves a lot of credit for the miracles he works on these discs ) . There are also informative sleevenotes with each of the five cd's .

In an age where the major record companies use all sorts of cynical ploys to get the record buyer to pay as much as possible for shoddy re-releases of timeless music , it makes a refreshing change to buy a product that has obviously been given a lot of care and attention to detail , and at such a cheap price . I'd have absolutely no hesitation in buying any release on the JSP label , as I know that quality is their biggest priority .

This is six hours of fabulous music that Django Reinhardt recorded between 1934 and 1939 , his guitar playing is awe inspiring ( despite having lost two fingers ) , and it is matched by the virtuoso violin playing of the great Stephane Grapelli . Coleman Hawkins also adds some marvelous tenor sax on some of these recordings ( what more must I say to tempt you ) , buy it ! if you love truly great music , you won't be disappointed .

Don't let the price fool you. This is the real thing. All of Django's early recordings presented with the greatest care and attention to detail. Fifty years later, Django's playing still astounds. Nearly every solo is a wake-up call combining impossible, monumental technique with freedom, humor, passion, and fire. Django has had many imitators over the past fifty years. The fact is, no one can touch him. Lean in and ruminate on how he did it, or just sit back and let the joy, invention and beauty of the music wash over you.

The quality and breadth of this set (not to mention the unbelievable price) is really too good to be true.

Buy it now.

p.s. Grappelly's no slouch, either.

Like the other reviews about this box set have said, you can't beat this deal. Every tune swings in the classic Django style. The one bad thing (or maybe just annoying to me) is that on the third disc, a few of the tunes are at a slowed down speed than the original issue. While some may not have heard these tunes before, the ones that have can tell a marked difference. "Swing 39" is the one tune that sticks out in my head. It's in the key of C but on the 3rd disc it's a Bb. Don't let my venting discourage you from getting this must-get box. The Django lovers bible of pre-war Quintette recordings!

This is SUPERB music. Even great musicians sometimes use clichés, Django, never. What I like best about him is that, although he was a bona-fide genius, he's never trying to impress you; he's having a good time playing, and so are you, listening. You don't have to be grave and boring to be interesting ! And then there's Stéphane Grappelli...

Technically, the sound quality here is vastly superior to anything I've heard elsewhere. To my ears, it's at least equal to the complete recordings published by Frémaux & Associés (apparently unavailable in the US). If you don't feel you have to own everything Django ever recorded, like for instance his work as a side-man to long forgotten French pop-singers (most of them for good reason), this is an amazing selection and an incredible deal.

My only (tiny) criticism is that the good folk at JSP (keep up the good work, friends !) don't seem to define "chronological" the same way I do. That's kind of annoying when you're trying to find out if this stuff doubles with records you already have (and are going to give away, since this is so much better).

Don't miss the second JSP box and the underrated "Blue Star" recordings, re-issued by Verve. For those who don't know, that's Django on electric guitar playing his version of bebop. Americans, revolt, it doesn't seem to be available in the US either.

One final remark. I don't know which record company has the rights to Django's last session (with, amongst others, Martial Solal and Sadi Lallemand). All I know is that they deserve a place in hell for not re-issuing it. Burn, you philistines !

it may have been pointed out another reviewer, but:
if you have the mosaic swing/hmv set and you're concerned about overlap, go ahead and get this set. there's only about a disc and a half of overlap. 3 1/2 hours' worth of non-duplicates, of sessions which preceded those in the mosaic and, even better, the complete paris and london decca sides from '38-39. restoration-wise, these are a little noisier than the mosaic, but also sweeter top end. different approach, i like both. pure joy.