Postwar Recordings 1944-1953

Postwar Recordings 1944-1953

• Shrink-wrapped

This collection follows a parallel course to JSP953 Django On the Radio and is a chance to compare his radio and recording studio performances. When the first recordings here were made, much of France was liberated. In Paris fans and musicians sought Django out. Django was partly adopted by the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Thus, early on a dream date: backing Django is the Uptown Hall Gang which was made up of Miller personnel - Mel Powell on piano, Peanuts Hucko on tenor, Bernie Privin on trumpet and drummer Ray McKinley. These are leading Jazzmen at the top of their game and Django is in no way the country cousin. Next, we have Django with the band of the Air Transport Command, a magnificent musical machine that - but for its association with Django - might have fallen into obscurity. At the outbreak of war, the Hot Club had been touring England. Django raced back to France and Stphane Grappelli stayed put. Here, in a London studio, the old buddies reunited. During this time, Django visited the US. There, he was exposed to the world's finest jazz musicians and mastered the electric guitar, but that was not the whole story. The trip was not a success. Behavior that was indulged in France was not tolerated in the US - where Django was one star among many. Once home Django got back to work. At about the same time, Stphane Grappelli turned up in Paris. For a time, the old firm was back in business. There followed three or four busy years of gigs, recordings and radio. By 1948, though, things quietened, especially for Django, but he continued to record. It was in January 1953 that the final tracks here were recorded. As before, Django won't compromise. We are at the crest of the jazz wave in Europe, and see a guitarist in evolution. Django was enjoying himself. He was in a second family similar to that of the gipsy. Increasingly modern jazzmen learned not to look to the public for approval, but to their peers.