Django Reinhardt Djangology (with The Quintet Of The Hot Club Of France)

Django Reinhardt continues to reveal how far-ranging his guitar craft and collaborative instincts were with this classic release. Djangology pairs him with his longtime musical compadre Stephane Grappelli, and the two are joined by an Italian trio in a set of recordings made in Rome in 1949 but not released until 1961. In 1992, yet another 7 cuts from the same sessions were unearthed and all 23 pieces were remastered. The centerpieces of Djangology are the tight collection of standards which prosper with the freshness and inquisitiveness of their playing. The album is a primer to the brilliance of the interplay between Grappelli and Reinhard, and provides a great foundation from which to explore Reinhardt's older (and less well preserved) recordings available. Among the extra songs included on the remastered version, "Improvisation on Tchaikovsky's 'PathŽtique' (Andante)" reveals the keen, sophisticated sensibilities that remained after decades of collaboration between the two men.