[HN Gopher] The Making of Django Reinhardt
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       The Making of Django Reinhardt
        
       Author : lardass
       Score  : 43 points
       Date   : 2024-04-17 16:30 UTC (6 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.messynessychic.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.messynessychic.com)
        
       | ipaddr wrote:
       | It's strange seeing valuable articles being flagged as dead in
       | the new section but somehow this gets promoted to the front page
       | because of the Django framework shares the same first name as
       | this Jazz musician.
        
         | ano-ther wrote:
         | Or maybe because this is actually the fascinating story about
         | someone who -- in true hacker spirit -- creates a completely
         | new genre despite having only two fingers available for
         | fretwork after he got burned badly.
         | 
         | Which was all news to me. So now I am going to spend the rest
         | of the day finding some of Django Reinhardt's music.
        
         | number6 wrote:
         | The Django Framework is named after this Jazz musician
        
         | adfm wrote:
         | You are witnessing culture propagating beyond algorithmic
         | boundaries. If you find this strange, consider the etymology of
         | jazz itself.
        
         | jan3024-2r wrote:
         | Yeah it's driven by bots.
        
           | dang wrote:
           | No bots in this case. See my reply upthread:
           | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40069963
        
         | dang wrote:
         | > Somehow this gets promoted to the front page because of the
         | Django framework
         | 
         | That's not why. It was picked for the second-chance pool
         | (explained at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26998308).
         | 
         | > valuable articles being flagged as dead in the new section
         | 
         | What are some examples?
        
       | code_runner wrote:
       | If you aren't happy, or want to be happier, just put on some
       | Django Reinhardt and sit back for a second.
       | 
       | The Joe Pass tribute album is also absolutely incredible.
       | 
       | Truly truly some amazing music.
        
         | grujicd wrote:
         | You can see live some incredible musicians who keep playing
         | Gipsy Jazz in Django Reinhardt style - Stochelo Rosenberg, or
         | Joscho Stephan.
        
         | AlbertCory wrote:
         | Everyone needs some Django in their collection. It's welcome
         | any time, anywhere.
        
         | javier123454321 wrote:
         | The Joe Pass tribute is amazing. It is an ode by someone that
         | is at a similar level of technical virtuosity, but with his own
         | extremely distinct voice. It is a nod, not attempt to copy.
         | Very unique.
        
       | vvpan wrote:
       | As as ipaddr points out it seems this got promoted by an
       | algorithm.
       | 
       | But that aside I always felt like Django's music aged quiet
       | poorly. A few country/blues/jazz and related styles from the
       | first half of 20th century have. Big band - did not age well and
       | effectively vanished as far I can see. Rag time, a very popular
       | style for a couple of decades, gives me some enjoyment but mostly
       | as a curiosity.
       | 
       | That is all in contrast to a massive body of jazz and blues music
       | from the era that has not aged a tiny bit, like pretty much
       | anything on Harry Smith's "Anthology of American Folk Music".
       | Say, for being zany and of the times "King Kong Kitchie Kitchie
       | Ki-Me-O" feels as real and pleasurable as anything and keeps
       | finding its way into pop culture.
        
         | mattpallissard wrote:
         | It's interesting that you mentioned big band with Django, as I
         | have both lumped together in my head as well; things that are
         | much more impressive live than on a recording. Stepping into a
         | venue where people are actually dancing to live to a jazz or
         | swing band, and to not just hear but feel the deafening blast
         | of horns are things you just can't get from a recording. I get
         | a weird nostalgia for those live moments when I hear
         | recordings.
         | 
         | Also FWIW I like Django, but I don't know if that it's aged
         | poorly or if it's just mostly the same across a lot of his
         | material and that the genre itself was played out over time.
         | It's become "hokey" as some would call it and, perhaps, since
         | we were never there we apply our modern perceptions to it.
         | 
         | That said, a few bangers still stand out on the recordings and
         | some of the solos and tempo changes are cool, even by today's
         | standards.
        
           | cge wrote:
           | >Stepping into a venue where people are actually dancing to
           | live to a jazz or swing band, and to not just hear but feel
           | the deafening blast of horns are things you just can't get
           | from a recording.
           | 
           | Dancing bal to a gypsy jazz group at Le Colonial in SF years
           | ago, the space cramped, the tables pushed back a few feet
           | around, the crowd dancing and mingling amongst the tables,
           | half knowing each other, at the twilight of a dying facet of
           | the city... I don't remember if the musicians were very good,
           | or even whether it was just a solo guitarist---I recall he'd
           | played at a party a day or two before---but in that moment
           | the music was more enchanting than any grand concert I had
           | been to.
           | 
           | Even live, but in a concert hall, I expect it would have been
           | unsatisfying. By itself, except for particular technical
           | appreciation when at Django's level, gypsy jazz is rather
           | monotonous. I've heard styles that need similar contexts,
           | played out of place in concert halls, like Max Raabe, and
           | while the musicians are excellent, it feels lacking.
           | 
           | But in the right context, the context it was born in, it is
           | amazing.
        
         | adfm wrote:
         | Messy Nessy is a popular blog and Django Reinhardt is
         | "considered by some the greatest guitarist who ever lived," so
         | I find it odd that you'd declare that his music hasn't aged
         | well. Adrian, Simon, Jacob, and the folks at LJW appreciated it
         | enough to name their Python Web framework after him and we're
         | still talking about it 18+ years later.
         | 
         | There are entire festivals that happen around the world
         | dedicated to his music!
         | 
         | https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/19276/upcoming-...
         | 
         | https://gypsyjazzfest.com
         | 
         | https://sites.google.com/view/monktonarts/gypsy-jazz-festiva...
         | 
         | https://www.thejazzmann.com/news/article/gypsy-jazz-festival...
         | 
         | https://djangoinjune.com
        
         | dang wrote:
         | Algorithms don't promote things on HN.
        
         | javier123454321 wrote:
         | I mean, he is often cited as one of the best guitarrists and
         | jazz players in history, as well as one of the most
         | influential.
         | 
         | There is an entire style of music which basically can be
         | described as attempting to sound like him, with an active
         | community of people playing circuits, festivals, and regularly
         | gigging musicians exclusively building entire careers on
         | playing Jazz Manouche.
         | 
         | I disagree with your take, and have trouble understanding what
         | you mean.
        
       | bsimpson wrote:
       | If you are ever in NYC, the present-day patron saint of gypsy
       | jazz (Stephane Wrembel) has a residency at Barbes in Park Slope.
       | He plays every Sunday at 8, and hosts an annual festival "Django
       | a Gogo" coming up on the first weekend in May.
       | 
       | It's a super good time.
        
         | wsintra2022 wrote:
         | Also a good club called Drom that hosts a lot of good gypsy
         | music. Drom being the Romany word for road.
        
           | bsimpson wrote:
           | Thanks for the tip!
        
       | pachico wrote:
       | Although I was already very familiar with jazz, I wasn't aware of
       | Django and the Gypsy Swing / Swing Manouche.
       | 
       | One day, probably being 16, I discovered it and it changed my
       | experience with music forever.
       | 
       | While my friends fantasized with motorcycles, I was dreaming to
       | attend the Samois Sur Senne festival. This passion drove me to
       | fly to Rome, Paris, Berlin, etc just to see Angelo Debarre or
       | Rosenberg, to fanatically collect records that never made it to
       | the digital era like Waso's, and what not.
       | 
       | For those that weren't exposed yet to it, please, let yourself be
       | tempted. Allow Django's music touch you with its brutal delicacy
       | and self-mocking irony.
       | 
       | Now, after 30 years, I still love it.
        
       | astockwell wrote:
       | In college, in a music class (History of Jazz maybe?), I had to
       | miss an exam, and the professor assigned me an essay to make up
       | for it: Life and impact of Django Reinhardt, minimum of 10 pages
       | (back in the "12 point font, Times New Roman" days).
       | 
       | This was in the early '00s, and hand-over-heart, there was less
       | than 10 pages _on the internet_ about Reinhardt. The collegiate
       | library was not much more help.
        
       | dagurp wrote:
       | I was introduced to Django's music in the first Mafia game. It's
       | part of why it's one of my all time favourite games.
        
         | selflock wrote:
         | Jesus, I didn't know that was his music. That's why his music
         | sounded so familiar when I first heard it!
        
       | crtified wrote:
       | If you're new to the music of Django, here is a great song :
       | 
       | Limehouse Blues
       | 
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfP820uuReI
        
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       (page generated 2024-04-17 23:00 UTC)