Django Reinhardt is unquestionably one of my favorite artists of all time, and probably my favorite guitarists to listen to. I discovered his music in 2006 when the game Bioshock came out, since it featured a number of his songs. I was entrance. I've gone to absurd lengths to hunt down his complete works, and I have an electronic copy of all 300 some of his known recordings.
The man is a genius. His music is just breathtakingly beautiful at times, and he can compose with a big band along with the best of them. The dynamic between his guitar and Grapelli's violin is magical, and I could and have listened to his music for hours. Not a single piece of music he ever recorded has vocals, but it's often more emotive than anything that does.
As for great songs, well....I could be here all day. Here are some of my favorites.
1. Djangology
2. Large Artillery (his take on Tuxedo Junction; he had to rename it to get past the censorship laws that banned American music in occupied France, where it was recorded)
3. Chasing Shadows
4. Brazil
5. Black and White
6. Finess
7. Georgia On My Mind
8. Souvenir
9. La Mer (Beyond the Sea)
10. Rose Room
11. Tea for Two
12. Swing 41
13. Three Little Words
14. Eliza
15. Sweet Georgia Brown
16. Mysteric Pacific
17. Honeysuckle Rose
18. You're Driving Me Crazy
19. Ain't Misbehavin
20. It Had to be You
21. Clouds
22. Avalon
23. September Song
24. Stardust
25. Chicago
Really, you can't go wrong with the man, but I prefer more soulful tracks like Finess and Chasing Shadows over his more up tempo stuff.
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