Download PSYC E-1704, Carson Paper # 1, Personality: Django

PSYC E-1704, Carson
Paper # 1, Personality: Django Reinhardt
Student 2
Musicians and fans alike often place Django Reinhardt’s name near the top on lists ranking the
most influential guitarists of the twentieth century, if not of all time. Reinhardt’s contributions run
deeper than mere talent playing the guitar, however, for he was also a gifted composer. His work
melding the conventions of musette (accordion-led dance hall music) with the loose, improvisational
elements of American jazz led to a new form of jazz in the 1930’s and ‘40’s known as hot guitar jazz, or
simply “hot jazz.” This new genre would go on to not only legitimize the guitar as a true jazz
instrument, but pave the way for many of today’s most popular styles of music: country and rock, for
example. Those studying Reinhardt might be interested to learn that while the level of refinement
evident in his surviving recordings and photographs suggests a composed, even debonair professional,
in many ways this was not the case. Those who knew him might have more accurately described the
nature of Django Reinhardt’s personality as daring, unrestrained and undependable.
A Romany Gypsy by birth, Django Reinhardt grew up on the road in Europe, primarily France
and Belgium, with his family and all their belongings crammed into a single horse-drawn caravan. The
Gypsies were a people without a country, always moving, either towards the next town to try their luck
at reading palms and selling trinkets, or away from law enforcement officials, who always seemed a
half- step behind them. As Michael Dregni notes in his biography Django: The Life and Music of a
Gypsy Legend; life for the Gypsies was difficult, money was scarce, and it was therefore an accepted
practice among the Romanies—even an admired one—to steal from the gadjos (non-Gypsies) when
necessary. Accordingly, “Django became a proficient robber of chickens” (Dregni, p. 5). Just a boy
helping to feed his family, such behavior might have been excusable, and yet Reinhardt continued to
steal well into adulthood. In one instance, a promoter went looking for him before a show, opened the
door to his caravan and found “it stocked with the finest of silver cutlery, all marked with the proud
imprint of the Palm Beach” (Dregni 56), the venue they had booked to play. Another time, Django
accompanied a fellow band member to a high-end tailor in a swanky London neighborhood. Despite a
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PSYC E-1704, Carson
Paper # 1, Personality: Django Reinhardt
Student 2
wad of cash in Django’s own pocket, the band member noticed upon leaving that Reinhardt “had
pocketed three silk neckties that caught his fancy” (Dregni, p. 67). Petty theft aside, Reinhardt’s daring
behavior nearly got him killed on more than one occasion. After a performance one night, Django
retired to bed when his caravan caught fire. He leapt to action and was able to pull his wife, pregnant in
her third trimester, from their bed and to safety. But Django decided to jump back into the caravan to
try to put out the fire. This was a daring, risky decision and one that would prove life-altering; for he
soon collapsed from smoke inhalation and was fortunate to have been pulled out by a few of his
neighbors. A large part of his body had been severely burned; most notably two fingers on his left hand,
now rendered useless. It would take the better part of a year for him to fully recover and figure out a
new way to play guitar using only his thumb and two good digits.
Reinhardt lived life in the moment; a preference likely formed after years of sleeping under the
stars, with none of the pressures and responsibilities that came with living in the gadjos’ world of rules
and standards. To everyone else, though, Django seemed to act with a reckless impulsivity: he was
unrestrained. At times this trait served him well, such as in his style of play. Had he not played guitar
boldly, ferociously, he would not have been heard over the accordion’s din in the unamplified musette
halls, and may have never been discovered in the first place. Fortunately he was, and his unrestrained,
inspired playing style would later quiet critics who felt guitar was not an instrument suitable for jazz.
Being unrestrained in most cases was a liability for Reinhardt, however. This was most evident on pay
day, as he had a habit of spending all his money as soon as he earned it. Django was particularly fond of
gambling and fast cars, and an opportunity for one or the other to spirit away his earnings was never far
off. Countless times he gambled away every dollar he had, and when he happened to win, more often
than not he’d still blow all his money on a lavish feast or party for his family and friends. There was
one instance when Reinhardt, early in his career, became enamored with a race car he noticed for sale.
It was the first of many he would own in his lifetime. Built only for speed, this particular car had no
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PSYC E-1704, Carson
Paper # 1, Personality: Django Reinhardt
Student 2
seats, no roof, not even a windshield. It was winter. Nevertheless, Django couldn’t help himself and
convinced his band leader to give him a month’s advance on his wages, even as his wife at the time was
unable to pay for basic necessities such as groceries. He bought the car, drove it as fast as it would go
until he blew the engine, and pushed it into the sea.
Reinhardt’s bohemian tendencies may have served him well musically, but others who relied on
him to show up for gigs or recording sessions as well as paying customers found him routinely
undependable. Early in his musette days, when he tired of playing the same, stale traditional numbers
night after night, he would often send his brother or an acquaintance to take his place, or simply not
show up. Instead, he would play billiards, find a poker game, or just stay home and sleep. On one
occasion, the Quintette du Hot Club de France, which was the band that would earn Django wide
recognition, had purchased time in a recording studio. Fellow band member Stéphane Grappelli—
violinist and legendary musician in his own right—relayed the difficulties in working with Reinhardt on
the album: “For Django, it was always an act of pure martyrdom to get out of bed in the morning….I
truly had to drag him out of bed—along with many promises and, if necessary, threats—and I had to
make him understand that without his presence the rendezvous would be canceled. Each time it was an
incredible drama” (Dregni, p. 89).
There are a number of positive descriptors one might use to capture the essence of Django, the
musician: passionate, innovative, free-spirited, brilliant. Descriptors of his personality tend to differ,
however, when attempting to capture the essence of Django, the man. These include adjectives like
daring; as with his proclivity towards thievery and his disregard for personal safety, unrestrained; as
with his weakness for gambling and automobiles, and undependable; as with his tendency to do what
he wished, regardless of the impact on others. For Reinhardt’s sake, it is perhaps beneficial that
history’s light shines for the most part on an artist’s contributions, and not his nature.
Dregni, M. (2004). Django: The life and music of a gypsy legend. New York: Oxford University Press.
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