Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli.

Gypsy jazz (also known as gypsy swing or hot club jazz) is a style of jazz music often said to have been started by guitarist Jean "Django" Reinhardt in the 1930s.^[1] Because its origins are largely in France it is often called by the French name, "jazz manouche", or alternatively, "manouche jazz", even in English language sources.^[2] Django was foremost among a group of Gypsy guitarists working in and around Paris in the 1930s through the 1950s, a group which also included the brothers Baro, Sarane, and Matelo Ferret and Reinhardt's brother Joseph "Nin-Nin" Reinhardt.^[3]

Many of the musicians in this style worked in Paris in various popular Musette ensembles. The Musette style waltz remains an important component in the Gypsy jazz repertoire. Reinhardt was noted for combining a dark, chromatic Gypsy flavor with the swing articulation of the period. This combination is critical to this style of jazz. In addition to this his approach continues to form the basis for contemporary Gypsy jazz guitar. Reinhardt's most famous group, the Quintette du Hot Club de France, also brought fame to jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli.

Instrumentation and lineup[link]

The original Quintette du Hot Club de France played acoustically without a drummer, facilitating the use of the acoustic guitar as a lead instrument. Guitar and violin are still the main solo instruments, although clarinet and accordion are also common. The rhythm guitar is played using a distinct percussive technique, "la pompe", that essentially replaces the drums. Most gypsy jazz guitarists, lead and rhythm, play a version of the Selmer-Maccaferri guitar design favored by Reinhardt himself.

Although many instrumental lineups exist, a group including one lead guitar, violin, two rhythm guitars, and bass is often the norm. Ensembles aim for an acoustic sound even when playing amplified concerts, and informal jam sessions in small venues or meetings such as annual the Django Reinhardt festival at Samois-sur-Seine are very much part of the scene.

In Eastern gypsy jazz, rhythm section is most likely covered by one or two cymbaloms, or (less frequently) a cymbalom and/or drums and an acoustic guitar (the cymbalom accompaniment technique is called in Romanian "ţiitură"). An upright bass fills out the ensembles.

Techniques[link]

Rhythm[link]

Rhythm guitar in gypsy jazz uses a special form of strumming known as "la pompe", i.e. "the pump". This form of percussive rhythm is similar to the "boom-chick" in bluegrass styles; it is what gives the music its fast swinging feeling. The strumming hand, which never touches the top of the guitar, must make a quick up-down strum followed by a down strum. The up-down part of la pompe must be done extremely fast, regardless of the tempo of the music. It is very similar to a grace note in classical music, albeit the fact that an entire chord is used. This pattern is usually played in unison by two or more guitarists in the rhythm section.

Harmony[link]

Another important aspect of this style of playing is based on the chord shapes Django was forced to use due to his injury. Standard barre chords are not an acceptable form in gypsy jazz, and these are instead replaced with chords that use just two or three fingers, often with one or more guitar strings muted by the left hand. Standard major and minor chords are almost never played, and are instead replaced by major 7th chords, major 6th chords, and 6/9 chords. Gypsy reharmonisation is often aimed at giving a minor feel even where a song is in a major key, for instance the substitution of a minor 6th chord for a Dominant seventh. Dominant seventh chords are also altered by lowering the 9th and 13th scale degree.

Lead[link]

Lead playing in this style has been summarised as ornamented or decorated arpeggio.^[4][5] Decorations often introduce chromaticism—for instance, mordents and trills. Particularly characteristic is a figure where successive notes of an arpeggio are each preceded by an appoggiatura-like grace note one semitone below.^[6] Other decorations include tremolo and string bends on the guitar, staccatto (or pizzicato on the violin), ghost notes, harmonics, octaves, double stops etc.

Arpeggios on the guitar are typically executed as patterns running diagonally from the lower frets on the lower strings to the upper frets on the upper strings. Such patterns tend to have no more than two stopped notes per string, relating to the fact that Django could only articulate two fingers on his fretting hand.^[7]

Commonly used scales, in addition to arpeggios, include the chromatic scale, melodic minor scale, dorian mode and diminished scale.

Chromatic runs are often executed very quickly over more than one octave. A particularly characteristic technique is the glissando, in which the guitar player slides a finger along a string, with a precisely timed tremolo picking out individual notes, in order to get a fast, virtuosic sound. Diminished runs, in which the shape of a diminished seventh chord is played in all inversions, one after the other, is another widespread gypsy jazz technique. Diminished 7th arpeggios are also used over dominant 7th chords. (Example: If an A7 is being played, a diminished run starting on C# would be played, creating an A7b9 sound over the dominant chord.) Guitarists often intersperse melodic playing with flamenco-esque percussive series of chords to create a varied solo .

The plectrum technique of gypsy jazz has been described^[8] as similar to economy picking. Notes on the same string are played alternately, but when moving from string to string, the same direction will be maintained, with the further requirement that a rest stroke will be performed. For instance, on switching from the G to the B string, the plectrum will move in the same direction and come to rest on the E string. This technique enhances both volume and speed.

Repertoire[link]

Gypsy jazz has its own set of frequently played standards, which are fairly distinct from the standards tunes of mainsteam jazz. However, contemporary ensembles may adapt almost any type of song to the style.

Gypsy swing standards include jazz hits of the '20s and '30s, such as "Limehouse Blues", and "Dinah"; Bal Musette numbers, often waltzes; original compositions by Django Reinhardt, such as "Nuages" and "Swing 42"; compositions by other notable gypsy swing players; and jazzed-up versions of gypsy songs, such as "Dark Eyes".

Much of the repertoire is in minor keys, and the dorian and harmonic minor modes are frequently heard, lending a distinctively dark and modal sound to the tunes which contrasts with the uptempo and spirited performance style. One popular example is Django's tune "Minor Swing", perhaps the most well-known Gypsy jazz composition. Slower ballads and duets may feature rubato playing and exotic harmonies.

Teaching and learning[link]

The first generations of gypsy jazz musicians learned the style by the 'gypsy method', involving intense practice, direct imitation of older musicians (often family members) and playing by ear, with little formal musical study (or, indeed, formal education of any kind). Since about the late 1970s, study materials of a more conventional kind such as workshops, books and videos have become available, allowing musicians worldwide to master the style. In recent years, software such as powertabs and band in a box files have become available. Prominent gypsy-style guitarists who are not ethnically Roma include John Jorgenson, Andreas Öberg, Frank Vignola, George Cole. Touring gypsy jazz musicians often include workshops with performances. Players who have written study guides include Martin Norgarrd, Tim Kliphuis, Andreas Öberg, Ian Cruickshank, Robin Nolan, Denis Chang, Michael Horowitz, Daniel Givone and Patrick "Romane" Leguidcoq.

Contemporary Gypsy jazz[link]

Gypsy jazz is thriving today, with fans and practitioners — some faithful copyists, others innovators — found all over the globe. The largest audiences and highest caliber of musicians are still found in Europe as this is where the style originates.^[9] Tim Kliphuis, Stochelo Rosenberg, Biréli Lagrène, Paulus Schäfer, Joscho Stephan and Angelo Debarre are perhaps the most famous performers today.^{[citation needed]} There is also a substantial American Gypsy Jazz movement headed by groups like Pearl Django, John Jorgenson Quintet, Frank Vignola and George Cole.

Belgium[link]

Django Reinhardt was born in Liberchies, Belgium and is commemorated by a yearly Django Reinhardt Jazz Festival held there. Some modern players such as Philippe Catherine, whom Charlie Mingus nicknamed "young Django" and Fapy Lafertin also hail from Belgium.

France[link]

Festival de Jazz Django Reinhardt at Samois-sur-Seine.

Other outstanding contemporary Manouche instrumentalists in the Django Reinhardt/Le Jazz Hot Tradition, as heard annually at the Festival de Jazz Django Reinhardt at Samois-sur-Seine, France, include^{[citation needed]} Django's grandson David Reinhardt,^[10] Dorado Schmitt, Tchavolo Schmitt, Jon Larsen, Didi Duprat, Angelo Debarre, Babik Reinhardt, Dario Pinelli, John Jorgenson, Samson Schmitt, Stephane Wrembel, Biréli Lagrène, Florin Niculescu, and the late Mondine Garcia.

Germany[link]

The German gypsy-jazz scene has a rich history with a variety of famous players such as Joscho Stephan. Today gypsy-jazz has its share in cultural life in Germany, thanks to the activities of the late Eberhard Tscheuschner, who was the founder of the Djangofestival in Burgthann. The main events are the annual Django Memorial Festival in Augsburg (organised by Bernhard Gierstl), the Djangofestival in Burgthann/Nuremberg, the Sinti-Festivals in Hildesheim and Koblenz.

Netherlands[link]

The Netherlands is home to a number of contemporary players such as Stochelo Rosenberg from The Rosenberg Trio, Jimmy Rosenberg, Paulus Schäfer and Tim Kliphuis. Especially the Dutch Sinti guitar players of gypsy jazz can be recognized by their singing and powerful tone, expressive vibrato, melodic improvisations, clear timing and dazzling technique. This style is referred to as the “Dutch school” of Gypsy Jazz.^[11][12]

North America[link]

Pearl Django appearing at a Bastille Day celebration

Django in June offers a weeklong Gypsy jazz music camp ("Django Camp"), as well as weekend clinics and concerts. Inaugurated in 2004, the event is held on the campus of Smith College in Northampton, MA.^[13]

DjangoFest NW, a celebration of Gypsy Jazz, takes place each September at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts in Langley, Washington, which typically features such performers as John Jorgenson, The Rosenberg Trio, Dan Hicks, and Pearl Django.

Every year, in August, New York's Lincoln Center hosts a Concert at Rose Hall, and the world famous Jazz Club, Birdland, in New York, features a week long Gypsy Jazz concert series in November.

In Minnesota, guitarist and composer Reynold Philipsek performs gypsy jazz music as a solo artist, and with Minnesota gypsy jazz acts East Side, The Twin Cities Hot Club, and Sidewalk Café. There is The Hot Club of Detroit in Detroit, the band that specializes in performing Gypsy-style swing jazz music, mostly modern interpretation of repertoire of Django Reinhardt. Pearl Django from Tacoma, Washington (from Seattle now) is combo that specializes in performing their version of Gypsy swing. George Cole and his group Vive Le Jazz have been touring nationally, most recently playing at Carnegie Hall in 2008. His original Gypsy Jazz inspired music was chosen for a Grammy's showcase. He plays an original Selmer 520 that Django Reinhardt used on tour in France in the 1940s.

Los Angeles, hometown of the "Birth of the Gypsybilly"^[14] is a blend of Gypsy Jazz Guitar and Rockabilly Guitar.

Romania[link]

Gypsy jazz came into prominence in Romania around 1980 by means of the pop-folk subgenre known as muzică bănăţeană (i.e. music in the Banat style), still practised to date. It has a different approach to lăutari (Gypsy folk) music. In muzica bănăţeană, some traditional instruments (kobza, cimbalom) are replaced by electric guitars and synthesizers, while others are kept (fiddle, accordion, alto saxophone, taragot), thus creating an eclectic type of sound (beside the unexpected timbre combinations, contrasting textures from these instruments are also featured.)^[15] The repertoire mixes together café concert, old-school jazz standards, folk and pop-folk music. The Western manouche style is reinterpreted mostly through the sârbă rhythm, actually very close to it, but syncopated differently in lead instruments. Throughout the years, muzica bănăţeană has gradually become fond of the manea rhythm, which sounds more like the twist when played in the Banat style; however the swung sârbă was not abandoned.

Muzica bănăţeană was politically censored throughout the 1980, so that only bootleg recordings survive of those years. According to the Romanian Ministry of Culture, the reason for banning it was its impure nature, threatening the national folk music. However, other lăutari music was widely recorded and performed in Communist Romania.^[15] After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, numerous musicians who weren't previously permitted to record on the national record label Electrecord, saw their debuts released. Perhaps the best known ensemble of the 1990s to perform Gypsy jazz was that of Banat-style singer Nicolae Guţă, whose repertoire has been compared by critics with Django Reinhardt's; besides, the modern sound was also appreciated positively.^[16] Guţă's Gypsy jazz was issued on foreign discs and caught interest in European countries, mostly France. By late 1990s Guţă renounced jazz music and started singing manele music instead. However, his recent compositions hint a possible returning to his jazz "roots." Another widely appreciated singer of muzică bănăţeană is Sandu Ciorbă.

Damian Draghici, born in Bucharest, Romania in 1970, is a virtuoso musician particularly associated with the Romanian Pan pipes (Nai) and is possibly the most noted exponent of his particular instrument in the world, having focused new international attention on the ancient Romanian pan flute.

In 2006 Draghici decided to return to his roots, by putting together a new group with “his gypsy brothers”, as he likes to call them. One of the purposes of the band “Damian & Brothers - Filarmonika Rromanes” is to change the international perception and the stereotypes on Roma (Gypsy) minority, through their music. The impact and the huge popularity achieved until now are a confirmation of their common effort. The official recognition of Damian Draghici efforts and dedication to promoting Roma minority came on 20 March 2007 when he was designated by the President of Romania as Romania’s Ambassador for the Rroma minority in the European Year of Equal Opportunities for all. On December 17, 2009 after 3 years and 600 concerts all over Europe, Damian and Brothers, the project was finished and the band had the last concert in Bucharest in front of 4000 fans, being sold out.

Scandinavia[link]

There is a yearly Django festival in Norway and Jon Larsen's Hot Club de Norvège is based there. Gypsy guitarist Andreas Öberg is based in Sweden. Famous Gypsyguitar builder Ari-Jukka Luomaranta (AJL-Guitars) is based in Finland and He is also running his own group Hot club de Finlande, performing with many famous soloists from Europe. In Finland there's also one of the greatest guitar soloists of today, young Olli Soikkeli.

South Africa[link]

Gypsy jazz has even made its mark as far afield as South Africa with bands like the psychadelic, Afro-Balkan, Gypsy jazz group the Skabengas.

United Kingdom[link]

The first generation of British gypsy jazz musicians is represented by the late Diz Disley who played with Stephane Grappelli.

John Etheridge combines jazz-rock fusion with forays into Gypsy Swing. Martin Taylor has worked with Stephane Grappelli and performed a widely-heard Djangoesque piece for the "Papa and Nichole" TV advertisements for Renault.

London has a specialist Gypsy Jazz venue, Le QuecumBar, which concerts featuring some of the world's musicians. Regular gypsy jazz sessions are held at the Briars Hall Hotel in Lathom near Ormskirk, Lancashire (Beaufort Jazz ^[17]), Northampton (the Black Cat) and Brighton and Hove (Club Chat Noir ^[18] at the Hanbury Club ^[19]). There are study groups in Marlow and Penzance^[20] (both called "Club Django").

"The Gypsy Jazz Guitar Festival" was held from 1997 to 2000 and a series of festivals called L'Esprit Manouche was held in Moseley, Birmingham in 2003/4/5. The International Gypsy Guitar Festival^[21] is currently being held at the end of July every year in Gloucestershire.

Australia[link]

There is a yearly Jazz Manouche festival in Brisbane, Australia called OzManouche. Started in 2006 by guitarist Ewan MacKenzie, who was inspired by a pilgrimage to Samois-sur_Seine for the annual DjangoFest there, the festival attracts djangophiles from around the country. A regular performer is guitarist Ian Date, now living in Ireland, who has been playing Gypsy Jazz since the 1980s. Other notable visiting players are Hank Marvin, Lulo Reinhardt, Andreas Oberg, Robin Nolan and Michel Trabelsi from Nouméa.

In Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane particularly there are some fine players of all ages and some excellent lineups including La Mauvaise Reputation, Duck Musique, Blue Drag and Ultrafox from Melbourne, Gadjo Guitars, the Spyglass Gypsies and the Djangologists from Sydney and Swing Manouche, Paris Dreaming, Cameron Ford Quartet and East West Hot Club from Brisbane.

MelbourneHot - Djams Over the past 6 years, Melbourne Gypsy Jazz scene has been kept alive and vibrant by 'MelbourneHot' weekly Djams sessions. Run by Alec and Ross - the styles serious enthusiasts and open to all local and visiting musicians. 'MelbourneHot' Djams used to be held at the Abbotsford Convent on Sundays throughout the year - a great testament of its organisers - and featured the very best Gypsy Jazz musicians in performances that lasted 6+ hours. Since 2012 the frequency of Djams have been reduced and its location has changed - but not the passion and music quality.

The Bellingen Jazz Festival in New South Wales features a large contingent of Jazz Manouche musicians each year.

Australian Gypsy Jazz musicians and fans make every effort to journey to France each year for the Samois festival.

See also[link]

• Romani music
• West Coast Gypsy jazz
• Oscar Marcelo Alemàn

References and further reading[link]

• Stan Ayeroff Jazz Masters: Django Reinhardt Amsco ISBN 0-8256-4083-0
• Ian Cruickshank The Guitar Style of Django Reinhardt and the Gypsies
• Michael Dregni, Gypsy Jazz: In Search of Django Reinhardt and the Soul of Gypsy Swing, OUP, ISBN 978-0-19-531192-1
• Romane and Derek Sebastian: L'Esprit Manouche: A Comprehensive Study of the Gypsy Jazz Guitar Mel Bay ISBN 97807786668956

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• The most comprehensive archive of gypsy music online
• DjangoBooks.com Gypsy jazz Books, Guitars, CDs, DVDs, and more!
• HotClub.co.uk Information on players, playing, equipment, etc
• Gypsy jazz at Find a Grave
• DjangoStation Information on Django and the Jazz Manouche : CD, DVD, video, concerts. In French
• Djangopedia - An Encyclopedia of Django's Recordings
• djangoinabox.com (Almost all Django solos for Band in a Box) & More
• General Information on Django and Gypsy Jazz from Paul Vernon Chester
• Chord diagrams for Gypsy-style guitar
• Links provided by Le QuecumBar (Gypsy Jazz venue, London, UK)
• Gypsy Jazz Method for guitarists
• John Jorgenson demystifies Gypsy Jazz
• Media related to Gypsy jazz at Wikimedia Commons
• Gypsy Waltzes 33 tunes for Band in a Box

Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt (1946)
Background information
Birth name	Jean Reinhardt
Born	(1910-01-23)23 January 1910, Liberchies, Pont-à-Celles, Belgium
Died	16 May 1953(1953-05-16) (aged 43) Fontainebleau, France
Genres	Jazz, Gypsy jazz, Romani music
Occupations	Guitarist, Composer
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1928–1953
Associated acts	Stéphane Grappelli, Quintette du Hot Club de France

Django Reinhardt (French pronunciation: [dʒɑ̃ɡo ʁenɑʁt]; 23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953) was a pioneering virtuoso Belgian jazz guitarist and composer.

Often regarded as the first important European jazz musician who made major contributions to the development of the idiom, he is also revered by guitarists worldwide as among the foremost exponents of the instrument. Reinhardt invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique (sometimes called 'hot' jazz guitar) that has since become a living musical tradition within French gypsy culture. With violinist Stéphane Grappelli, he co-founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France, described by critic Thom Jurek as "one of the most original bands in the history of recorded jazz."^[1] Reinhardt's most popular compositions have become jazz standards, including "Minor Swing", "Daphne", "Belleville", "Djangology", "Swing '42", and "Nuages".

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Jean "Django" Reinhardt^[2] was born 23 January 1910 in Liberchies, Pont-à-Celles, Belgium, into a family of Manouche gypsies. Reinhardt's nickname "Django" is Romani for "I awake."^[3] Reinhardt spent most of his youth in Romani (Gypsy) encampments close to Paris, playing banjo, guitar and violin from an early age. His family made cane furniture for a living, but included several keen amateur musicians.^[4]

Reinhardt was attracted to music at an early age, playing the violin at first. At the age of 12, he received a banjo-guitar as a gift. He quickly learned to play, mimicking the fingerings of musicians he watched. His first known recordings (in 1928) were of him playing the banjo. During this period he was influenced by two older gypsy musicians, the banjoist Gusti Mahla and the guitarist Jean "Poulette" Castro. By the age of 13, Reinhardt was able to make a living playing music. As a result, he received little formal education and acquired the rudiments of literacy only in adult life.^[5]

The injury[link]

At the age of 18, Reinhardt was injured in a fire that ravaged the caravan he shared with Florine "Bella" Mayer, his first wife.^[6] They were very poor, and to supplement their income Bella made imitation flowers out of celluloid and paper. Consequently, their home was rich in highly flammable material. Returning from a performance late one night, Reinhardt apparently knocked over a candle on his way to bed. While his family and neighbours were quick to pull him to safety, he received first- and second-degree burns over half his body. His right leg was paralysed and the third and fourth fingers of his left hand were badly burned. Doctors believed that he would never play guitar again and intended to amputate one of his legs.^[7] Reinhardt refused to have the surgery and left the hospital after a short time; he was able to walk within a year with the aid of a cane.

His brother Joseph Reinhardt, an accomplished guitarist himself, bought Django a new guitar. With rehabilitation and practice he relearned his craft in a completely new way, even as his third and fourth fingers remained partially paralysed. He played all of his guitar solos with only two fingers, and used the two injured digits only for chord work.^[8]

In 1929, Reinhardt's estranged wife Florine gave birth to a son named Henri "Lousson" Reinhardt (aka Lousson Baumgartner).^[9]

Discovery of jazz[link]

The period between 1929 and 1933 were formative years for Reinhardt. One development was his abandonment of the banjo-guitar in favour of the guitar. He also first heard American jazz during this period, when a man called Emile Savitry played him a number of records from his collection: he was particularly impressed with Louis Armstrong, whom he called "my brother".^[10] Shortly afterwards he made the acquaintance of a young violinist with very similar musical interests—Stéphane Grappelli. In the absence of paid work in their radical new music, the two would jam together, along with a loose circle of other musicians.^[11] Finally, Reinhardt would acquire his first Selmer guitar in the mid 1930s. The volume and expressiveness of the instrument were to become an integral part of his style.

Formation of the quintet[link]

Reinhardt and Grappelli.

In 1934, Reinhardt and Parisian violinist Grappelli were invited to form the "Quintette du Hot Club de France" with Reinhardt's brother Joseph and Roger Chaput on guitar, and Louis Vola on bass.^[12] Occasionally Chaput was replaced by Reinhardt's best friend and fellow Gypsy Pierre "Baro" Ferret. The vocalist Freddy Taylor participated in a few songs, such as "Georgia On My Mind" and "Nagasaki". Jean Sablon was the first singer to record with him more than 30 songs from 1933. They also used their guitars for percussive sounds, as they had no true percussion section. The Quintette du Hot Club de France (in some of its versions at least) was one of the few well-known jazz ensembles composed only of string instruments.^[13]

In Paris on 14 March 1933, Reinhardt recorded two takes each of "Parce que je vous aime" and "Si, j'aime Suzy", vocal numbers with lots of guitar fills and guitar support, using three guitarists along with an accordion lead, violin, and bass. In August of the following year recordings were also made with more than one guitar (Joseph Reinhardt, Roger Chaput, and Django), including the first recording by the Quintette. In both years, it should be noted, the great majority of their recordings featured a wide variety of horns, often in multiples, piano, and other instruments.^[14] Nonetheless, the all-string format is the one most often adopted by emulators of the Hot Club sound.

Reinhardt also played and recorded with many American jazz musicians such as Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter, Rex Stewart (who later stayed in Paris), and participated in a jam-session and radio performance with Louis Armstrong. Later in his career he played with Dizzy Gillespie in France. Reinhardt and the Hot Club of France used the Selmer Maccaferri, the first commercially available guitars with a cutaway and later with an aluminium-reinforced neck.

World War II[link]

When World War II broke out, the original quintet was on tour in the United Kingdom. Reinhardt returned to Paris at once,^[15] leaving his wife behind. Grappelli remained in the United Kingdom for the duration of the war. Reinhardt reformed the quintet, with Hubert Rostaing on clarinet replacing Grappelli's violin. In 1943, Reinhardt married Sophie "Naguine" Ziegler in Salbris, with whom he had a son, Babik Reinhardt, who became a respected guitarist in his own right.^[16]

Reinhardt survived the war unscathed, unlike many Romanis who perished in the Porajmos, the Nazi regime's systematic murder of several hundred thousand European Romanis. He was well aware of the dangers he and his family faced, and made several unsuccessful attempts to escape occupied France. Part of the explanation of his survival is that he enjoyed the protection of (surreptitiously) jazz-loving Nazis such as Luftwaffe officer Dietrich Schulz-Köhn, nicknamed "Doktor Jazz".^[17]

Reinhardt's problems were compounded by the fact that the Nazis also officially disapproved of jazz.^[18] Reinhardt became interested in other musical directions, attempting to write a Mass for the Gypsies and Symphony (since he could not write music, he would perform improvisations to be notated by an assistant). His modernist piece Rhythm Futur was intended to be acceptably unjazzlike.

United States tour[link]

After the war, Reinhardt rejoined Grappelli in the UK, and then went on in the autumn of 1946 to tour the United States as a special guest soloist with Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, when he got to play with many notable musicians and composers such as Maury Deutsch. At the end of the tour he played two nights at Carnegie Hall; he received a great ovation and took six curtain calls on the first night. Despite Reinhardt's great pride in touring with Ellington (one of his two letters to Grappelli relates this excitement), he was not really integrated into the band, playing only a few tunes at the end of the show, backed by Ellington, with no special arrangements written for him. After the tour he secured an engagement at Café Society Uptown, where he did four solos a day backed by the resident band. These performances drew large audiences.^[19]

Reinhardt was reportedly given an untuned guitar to play with (discovered after strumming a chord) which took him five minutes to tune. Having failed to take along a Selmer Modèle Jazz, the guitar he made famous, he had to play on a haphazardly borrowed electric guitar, which failed to bring out the delicacy of his style.^[20]

Django Reinhardt was among the first people in France to appreciate the music of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, whom he sought when he arrived in New York. They were both on tour at the time, however.^{[citation needed]}

He had been promised some jobs in California but these failed to materialize and he got tired of waiting. He returned to France in February 1947.^[21]

After the quintet[link]

After returning to France, Reinhardt spent the remainder of his days re-immersed in Romani life, having found it difficult to adjust to the modern world. He would sometimes show up for concerts without a guitar or amp, or wander off to the park or beach, and on a few occasions he refused even to get out of bed. Reinhardt was known by his band, fans, and managers to be extremely unpredictable. He would often skip sold-out concerts to simply "walk to the beach" or "smell the dew".^[22]

In Rome in 1949, Reinhardt recruited three Italian jazz players (on bass, piano, and snare drum) and recorded his final (double) album, "Djangology". He was once again united with Grappelli, and returned to his acoustic Selmer-Maccaferri. The recording was discovered and issued for the first time in the late 1950s.^[23]

Final years[link]

Plaque commemorating Reinhardt at Samois-sur-Seine.

In 1951, he retired to Samois-sur-Seine, near Fontainebleau, where he lived until his death. He continued to play in Paris jazz clubs and began playing electric guitar (often a Selmer fitted with an electric pickup), despite his initial hesitation towards the instrument. His final recordings made with his "Nouvelle Quintette" in the last few months of his life show him moving in a new musical direction; he had assimilated the vocabulary of bebop and fused it with his own melodic style.^[24]

While walking from the Avon railway station after playing in a Paris club he collapsed outside his house from a brain hemorrhage.^[25] It was a Saturday and it took a full day for a doctor to arrive^[26] and Reinhardt was declared dead on arrival at the hospital in Fontainebleau at age 43.

Family[link]

Reinhardt's second son, Babik, was a guitarist in the contemporary jazz style. His first son, Lousson, was more of a traditionalist, but followed the Romani lifestyle and rarely performed in public. Reinhardt's brother Joseph had initially sworn to abandon music on hearing of Reinhardt's death, but was persuaded to start performing and recording again. Joseph's son Markus is a gypsy violinist. There is now a third generation of direct descendants: Reinhardt's grandson (by his son Babik), David Reinhardt, leads his own trio; his grandson by Lousson, Dallas Baumgartner, is a guitarist who follows in his father's footsteps by traveling and keeping a low public profile.

Django had a cousin, Schnuckenack Reinhardt^[27], who was a violinist. Schnukenack lived in Germany, and the two never met. Many of his descendants are also involved in gypsy music, such as his grandson Lulo Reinhardt.

Legacy[link]

For about a decade after Reinhardt's death, interest in his musical style was minimal, with the fifties seeing bebop superseding swing in jazz, the rise of rock and roll, and electric instruments taking over from acoustic ones in popular music. Reinhardt's friends and sidemen Pierre Ferret and his brothers continued to perform their own version of gypsy swing.

There was a revival of interest in Reinhardt's music from the mid sixties, with acoustic music having become popular through the folk movement. Several of Reinhardt's near-contemporaries recorded for the first time in the sixties and seventies, for instance Paul "Tchan Tchou" Vidal

In 1973 Stéphane Grappelli formed a successful Quintette-style band with British guitarists Diz Disley and Denny Wright. Grappelli would go on to form many other musical partnerships, including John Etheridge, Nigel Kennedy and David Grisman. He was also to acquire his own emulators, for instance Dutch violinist Tim Kliphuis.

New generations began to emerge, for instance, Jimmy and Stochelo Rosenberg and their relatives from the Netherlands. Another musical clan is the Reinhardt brothers and cousins from Germany, distant relatives of Reinhardt's. Boulou Ferré, son of "Matelot" Ferret, was a child prodigy who entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of 13, and studied under Olivier Messiaen. He continues to perform, with his brother Elios, and can mix bebop and even classical music with gypsy swing. Biréli Lagrène and Angelo Debarre were other prodigies.

Most of the above-mentioned are Roma who learned music by the 'gypsy method', involving intense practice, direct imitation of older musicians (often family members) and playing by ear, with little formal musical study (or, indeed, formal education of any kind). Since about the late 1970s, study materials of a more conventional kind such as workshops, books and videos have become available, allowing musicians worldwide to master the style.

An early non-Roma gypsy-style guitarist was René Didi Duprat (b. 1926). Contemporary ones include John Jorgenson, Jon Larsen (and his Hot Club de Norvège, established 1979), Joscho Stephan, Andreas Öberg, Frank Vignola, George Cole, Stephane Wrembel and Reynold Philipsek. Their music is sometimes jokingly referred to as "Gadjo jazz", where Gadjo is the Romani term for a non-Romani.^{[citation needed]} Young players such as Adrien Moignard and Gwenole Cahue represent the rising generation. Another sign of the rising popularity of gypsy jazz is the increasing number of festivals, such as the Samois-sur-Seine festival (started about 1980), and the various DjangoFests held in the USA.

Reinhardt in popular culture[link]

Reinhardt has been portrayed in several films, such as in the opening sequence of the 2003 animated film Les Triplettes de Belleville. The third and fourth fingers of the cartoon Reinhardt are considerably smaller than the fingers used to play the guitar. Reinhardt's legacy dominates in Woody Allen's 1999 Sweet and Lowdown. This spoof biopic focuses on fictional American guitarist Emmet Ray's obsession with Reinhardt, with soundtrack featuring Howard Alden. He is also portrayed by guitarist John Jorgenson in the movie Head in the Clouds.

Reinhardt is the idol of the character Arvid in the movie Swing Kids, where the character's left hand is smashed by a member of the Hitler Jugend, but is inspired by Reinhardt's example to keep playing. Similarly, in real life, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi suffered an industrial accident at 17, where the tips of his right middle and ring fingers were amputated on the last day of his job at a sheet metal factory. His boss, in an effort to encourage Iommi to follow his dream of being a professional guitarist, played a Django Reinhardt record for him for inspiration.^[28]

Reinhardt's music has been used in the soundtrack of many films, including in The Matrix; Rhythm Futur, Daltry Calhoun, Metroland, Chocolat, The Aviator, Alex and the Gypsy, Kate and Leopold and Gattaca; the score for Louis Malle's 1974 movie, Lacombe Lucien; the background for the Steve Martin movie L.A. Story; and the background for a number of Woody Allen movies, including Stardust Memories. (MnHe also appeared as a character in Allen's Sweet and Lowdown. Reinhardt's music has also been featured in the soundtracks of several video games, such as the 2002 game Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven, Mafia II^[29] and several times in the 2007 game BioShock. Notably, not only was Reinhardt's music used in the 1978 film King of the Gypsies, his long-time friend and violinist Stéphane Grappelli appeared in the film in a cameo performing as part of one of the gypsy bands.

In the Martin Scorsese film, Hugo, 2011, a character who appears to be, and is credited as, Reinhardt plays guitar in a combo in the station cafe and a closeup shows him making chords without the use of his 3rd and 4th fingers. Other Paris artistic notables of the day are depicted as well.

Reinhardt has been the subject of several songs, most notably "Django" (1954), a gypsy-flavoured piece that jazz pianist John Lewis of the Modern Jazz Quartet wrote in honour of Reinhardt; numerous versions of the song have been recorded, including one on the 1973 Lindsey Buckingham/Stevie Nicks self-titled debut album; it also appears on Joe Bonamassa's 2006 LP You & Me. The lyrics of the Norwegian song "Tanta til Beate" by Lillebjørn Nilsen mentions Reinhardt several times.

He is mentioned in Jump Little Children's song "Mexico": "I won't let you leave, not with all my Django, Emmylou and Steve".

In the novel Century Rain by Alastair Reynolds, the characters Wendell Floyd and André Custine mention having played music with Reinhardt.

At the end of the 2009 NCIS episode "Hide and Seek," Dr. Mallard mentions that Agent McGee's prized autographed Django Reinhardt album "Crazy Rhythm" was mysteriously destroyed.

In 2010 the French and Belgian Google homepages displayed a logo commemorating the centenary of his birthday on 23 January 2010.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine actors Alexander Siddig and Nana Visitor named their son after Reinhardt.

Reinhardt is loosely suggested as the main character in the music video for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Brian Setzer.^{[citation needed]}

The Django web framework is named after him, as is version 3.1 of the blog software WordPress.^[30]

"Twango", a track on Duane Eddy's album Road Trip, is a tribute to Reinhardt.

"Tango For Django", a track on Robbie Robertson's album How To Become Clairvoyant, is a tribute.

The Belgian government issued a commemorative coin in 92.5% sterling silver in 2010 coinciding with his 100th birth anniversary. It is a silver 10 Euro coin with a color image of Django Reinhardt on the reverse side.^[31]

Influence[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Many guitar players, and musicians, have expressed admiration for Django Reinhardt, or have cited him as a major influence. These include British rock guitarists Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, and Eric Clapton, all three of whom are regularly listed by publications such as Rolling Stone or Guitar Player Magazine as being within the top 10 greatest or most influential guitar players (often with Reinhardt, himself). In fact, Jeff Beck has described Reinhardt as "By far the most astonishing guitar player ever..." and "...quite superhuman..." [1] Other notable guitar players influenced by Reinhardt, include Bob Dunn, Leon McAuliffe, Jimmy McCulloch, NWOAHM guitarist Synyster Gates (Brian Haner Jr.) of Avenged Sevenfold, classical guitarist Julian Bream; country artist Chet Atkins, who placed Reinhardt #1 on a list of the ten most influential guitarists of the 20th century (and himself fifth); Latinrocker Carlos Santana; blues legend B.B. King; Pete Townshend of The Who; Australian acoustic guitar player Tommy Emmanuel; The Wiggles' Murray Cook; Pierre Bensusan; Phish's Trey Anastasio; The Libertines' Carl Barat, Shawn Lane; Hank Marvin; Stevie Ray Vaughan; Derek Trucks; Mark Knopfler; Les Paul; Joe Pass; Peter Frampton; Denny Laine; Bill Nelson; Jon Larsen; Steve Howe; Charlie Christian; Frank Vignola; Barney Kessel; George Benson; Wes Montgomery; Martin Taylor; Michael Angelo Batio; Richard Thompson; Robert Fripp; René Thomas; and Jeff Martin. Willie Nelson wore a Django Reinhardt T-shirt on tour in Europe in 2002, stating in an interview that he admired Reinhardt's music and ability. Willie pointed out how Reinhardt's Hot Club quintet paralleled the hot jazz & country fiddle sound of 1930's Western Swing bands Milton Brown and His Musical Brownies and Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys.^{[citation needed]} As well as individual guitarist Django's music has inspired numerous groups to form, including countless "Hot Clubs" as well as more diverse groups such as Swing Je T'aime, and the David Grisman Quintet.

Jose Feliciano attributes his unique style to, in part, that of Reinhardt's. In 2009 he composed an album inspired by those musical influences and entitled it Djangoisms.^{[citation needed]}

Cuban composer and guitarist Leo Brouwer composed Variations on a Theme of Django Reinhardt for solo guitar (1984). It is based on Nuages, by Reinhardt.

The Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia and Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi, both of whom lost fingers in accidents, were particularly inspired by Reinhardt's ability to become an accomplished guitar player/musician, despite the diminished use of his own permanently injured hand following an accident. Jerry Garcia as quoted in June 1985 in Frets Magazine ; "His technique is awesome! Even today, nobody has really come to the state that he was playing at. As good as players are, they haven’t gotten to where he is. There’s a lot of guys that play fast and a lot of guys that play clean, and the guitar has come a long way as far as speed and clarity go, but nobody plays with the whole fullness of expression that Django has. I mean, the combination of incredible speed – all the speed you could possibly want – but also the thing of every note have a specific personality. You don’t hear it. I really haven’t heard it anywhere but with Django".

A number of musicians have even named their sons Django in honour of, or respect for, Reinhardt. They include Dawelie Reinhardt, David Crosby, former Slade singer Noddy Holder, Jerry Jeff Walker, Richard Durrant, as well as actors Nana Visitor, Alexander Siddig and Raphael Sbarge. Jazz musician Django Bates and singer-songwriter Django Haskins were also named after him.

Songs written in Reinhardt's honour include "Django," an instrumental guitar piece by renowned blues-rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa. The piece was influenced by the violin introduction of "Vous et Moi" (Blues et Mineur 1942, Brussels) where Reinhardt himself played the violin. Vous et Moi (You and Me) became the title of Bonamassa's sixth album where the track first appeared in 2006. Slightly longer live versions appear on LIVE...From Nowhere In Particular (2009), and in DVD from the 4 May concert at Royal Albert Hall. "Django," composed by John Lewis, which has become a jazz standard performed by musicians such as Miles Davis. The Modern Jazz Quartet titled one of their albums Django in honour of him. The Allman Brothers Band song "Jessica" was written by Dickey Betts in tribute to Reinhardt — he wanted to write a song that could be played using only two fingers. This aspect of the artist's work also motivated Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, who was inspired by Reinhardt to keep playing guitar after a factory accident that cost him two fingertips. Composer Jon Larsen has composed several crossover concerts featuring Reinhardt-inspired music together with symphonic arrangements, most famous are "White Night Stories" (2002) and "Vertavo" (1996).

Not only did Reinhardt put his stamp upon jazz, his "hot" string band music also had an impact upon the parallel development of Texas's western swing string bands, which eventually fed into the wellspring of what is now called country music.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, Django Reinhardt took 66th place in the election of The Greatest Belgian (De Grootste Belg) in Flanders and 76th place in the Walloon version of the same competition Le plus grand Belge.

Discography[link]

• 1945 Paris 1945
• 1947 Ellingtonia – with the Rex Stewart Band – Dial 215
• 1949 Djangology
• 1951 Django Reinhardt and the Hot Club Quintet
• 1951 At Club St. Germain
• 1953 Django Reinhardt et Ses Rythmes
• 1954 The Great Artistry of Django Reinhardt
• 1955 Django's Guitar
• 1959 Django Reinhardt and His Rhythm
• 1980 Routes to Django Reinhardt
• 1991 Django Reinhardt - Pêche à la Mouche: The Great Blue Star Sessions 1947/1953
• 1996 Imagine
• 1997 Django Reinhardt: Nuages with Coleman Hawkins
• 1998 The Complete Django Reinhardt HMV Sessions
• 2000 The Classic Early Recordings in Chronological Order (5 CD boxed set)
• 2001 All Star Sessions
• 2001 Jazz in Paris: Swing 39
• 2002 Djangology (remastered) (recorded in 1948, discovered, remastered and released by Bluebird Records)
• 2003 Jazz in Paris: Nuages
• 2003 Jazz in Paris: Nuits de Saint-Germain des-Prés
• 2004 Le Génie Vagabond
• 2005 Djangology (Bluebird)
• 2008 Django on the Radio (radio broadcasts, 1945–1953)

• At least eight compilations have also been released.

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	Music portal

References[link]

External links[link]

• Hotclublinks.com
• Djangopedia
• All About Django Reinhardt
• Manouche Maestro by Paul Vernon Chester
• Django by Michael Dregni
• Gypsy Jazz Encyclopedia
• Django: the Life and Times of a Gypsy Legend by Michael Dregni
• The Genius of Django Reinhadt 1/5 (documentary)
• Transcriptions
• King of the Gypsies at the Internet Movie Database
• Full collection of "Django Reinhardt for band in a Box"

Frank Vignola (b. December 30, 1965, Long Island) is an American jazz guitarist.

Vignola began on guitar at age five. While he never listened to jazz exclusively, he has a wide range of influences, such as Les Paul, Eddie Van Halen and Frank Zappa. He later studied at the Cultural Arts Center of Long Island. He worked extensively as a sideman in the 1980s, with artists such as Madonna, Leon Redbone, and Ringo Starr. In 1993 he signed with Concord Jazz, when he was 27 and has released several albums under his own name since then. He has written 18 instructional guitar books and has recorded multiple instructional CD-ROMs for Truefire.com.

Discography[link]

• Appel Direct (Concord Jazz, 1993)
• Let it Happen (Concord, 1994)
• Look Right, Jog Left (Concord, 1995)
• Deja Vu (Concord, 1999)
• Off Broadway (Nagel-Heyer, 2000)
• Blues for a Gypsy (Acoustic Disc, 2001)
• Kong Man (VMD)
• Vignola Plays Gershwin (Mel Bay, 2007)
• Just Between Frets with Tommy Emmanuel (Groovemasters, 2009)
• Standards Live with Bucky Pizzarelli (Frank Vignola, 2009)
• 100 Years of Django (Azica Records, 2010)

References[link]

• Frank Vignola at Allmusic

Biréli Lagrène
Bireli aux Granges 26 August 2006
Background information
Born	(1966-09-04) 4 September 1966 (age 45) Soufflenheim, Bas-Rhin Alsace, France
Genres	Gypsy jazz, swing, jazz fusion, post bop, Jazz Rock
Occupations	Musician
Instruments	Guitar, Bass guitar, Violin, vocal
Years active	1978–present
Associated acts	Jaco Pastorious, Bireli lagrene Gipsy Project,
Website	www.bireli-lagrene.com

Biréli Lagrène (born September 4, 1966) is a French guitarist and bassist. He came to prominence in the 1980s for his Django Reinhardt-influenced style on the guitar, as well as for being a jazz fusion virtuoso on the electric guitar. He often performs within the swing, jazz fusion and post bop mediums.^[1]

Biography[link]

Biréli Lagrène was born on September 4, 1966, in Soufflenheim, Bas-Rhin Alsace, France, in a traditional Manouche-Romani people (Gypsy) family and community. He started playing the guitar at the age of four. He grew up in the loving but tough environment of the "tzigane". His father Fisso (a very gifted violinist), his mother Berga and his brother Gaiti were his biggest influences. When, at the age of eight, he covered Django Reinhardt’s repertoire, his relatives were already calling him a child prodigy. Winning a Romani music festival in Strasbourg at the age of twelve gave him the opportunity to tour in Germany and, later, to record his performance on the LP Routes To Django - live At The Krokodil.

Offered a chance to leave for the United States, Lagrène met some of the most distinguished jazz musicians on the international scene, such as Stéphane Grappelli, Benny Goodman, and Benny Carter. In 1984, he met Larry Coryell in New York. Later, he was introduced to bassist Jaco Pastorius and ventured with him into jazz fusion. Together, they toured Europe, which contributed a great deal to Lagrène’s musical emancipation. Lagrène has also performed live with guitarist Al Di Meola.

Back to a more traditional style, Lagrène recorded Gipsy Project and Gipsy Project and Friends in 2002. Along with his usual cohorts Diego Imbert (double bass) and Hono Winterstein (rhythm guitar), the latter session featured Henri Salvador and Thomas Dutronc (son of legendary French pop pair Françoise Hardy and Jacques Dutronc).

Discography[link]

• 1980 Routes To Django - live At The Krokodil (jazzpoint)
• 1981 Biréli Swing ‘81
• 1981 Down in Town
• 1982 Fifteen (Antilles)
• 1984 Live at the Canergie Hall relica
• 1985 A tribute to Django Reinhardt (Live at the Carnegie Hall & Freiburg Jazz Festival) 2 cd
• 1985 Live with Vic Juris Inakustik
• 1986 Stuttgart Aria
• 1986 Heavy'n Jazz (Jaco Pastorius)
• 1986 Special Guests (Larry Coryell, Miroslav Vitous)
• 1988 Acoustic Moments Blue Note1986 : Lagrene and Guests
• 1987 Inferno
• 1988 Foreign Affairs
• 1989 Highlights
• 1983 Down In Town
• 1990 91 Acoustic moments
• 1994 Live in Marciac
• 1994 The Music of Django Reinhardt IMPORT Bob Wilber Randy Sandke Mike Peters Bireli Lagrene
• 1992 Standards Capitol
• 1995 My favorite Django
• 1998 The One And Only, together with Jimmy Rosenberg and Angelo Debarre (Hot Club Records)
• 1998 Mike Reinhardt Choukar
• 1998 Blue Eyes
• 1999 Duet, together with Sylvain Luc
• 2000 A Tribute to Django Reinhardt: at the Carnegie H.and the Freiburg Jazz Fest. reedition
• 2000 Frontpage with Dennis Chambers Dominique Di Piazza
• 2001 Gipsy Project
• 2004 Move
• 2004 Bireli Lagrene & Friends Live Jazz à Vienne (DVD). L’intégrale en 32 morceaux du concert donné en 2002 par Biréli Lagrène et les meilleurs Jazzmen manouche.
• 2005 Bireli Lagrene & Gypsy Project Live in Paris DVD
• 2006 Djangology avec Big Band WDR de Cologne + solo To Bi or not to Bi
• 2007 Just the way you are
• 2008 Electric side
• 2009 Summertime, together with Sylvain Luc
• 2009 Gipsy Trio
• 2010 Djangologists with The Rosenberg Trio

Filmography[link]

• 2004 Live Jazz À Vienne (Dreyfus)^[2]
• 2005 Django: A Jazz Tribute
• 2006 Live in Paris (Dreyfus)^[3]
• 2009 Monaco Dreyfus Night (Dreyfus)AMG</ref>

References[link]

External links[link]

• Biréli Lagrène official website

Ben Travers AFC CBE (12 November 1886, London – 18 December 1980) in London) was a British playwright best remembered for his farces.

Born in the London borough of Hendon, Travers was educated at Charterhouse, where today there is a theatre named for him. After a brief sojourn in business, he served in the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service during the First World War. He also rejoined the Royal Air Force in 1939 as a Squadron Leader, being employed at the Air Ministry and in Washington.

Travers' first play The Dippers was produced in 1922 by Sir Charles Hawtrey. It was followed by his celebrated series of farces staged at the Aldwych Theatre, and a number of well-received serious plays. Travers also wrote five novels, two autobiographies and a book of cricket reminiscences. In 1970 the BBC produced the farces Rookery Nook, A Cuckoo In The Nest, Turkey Time, A Cup Of Kindness, Plunder, Dirty Work and She Follows Me About for television. At the age of 83, Travers rewrote the plays to concentrate on plot twists and verbal misunderstandings, rather than the slapstick and split-second timing that typified the stage versions.

In his ninetieth year he wrote a comeback work for the stage, the comedy The Bed Before Yesterday, which was successfully produced by Lindsay Anderson in the West End in December 1975 for the Lyric Theatre Company, starring Joan Plowright and Helen Mirren. On Travers' 90th birthday, when asked in a radio interview whether he did not feel that at 90 he was a bit old to be writing sex romps, he replied quick-as-a-flash "Ah but you see, I have an awfully good memory".

In January 1976 Michael Blakemore revived Plunder at the Royal National Theatre and at the Evening Standard Awards, held at the Savoy Hotel on 4 February, Travers was presented with the 1975 Special Award for his Services to the Theatre, and received the CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours.

He served as prime warden of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers.

The Plays[link]

• 1922 The Dippers
• 1924 The Three Graces (an adaptation)
• 1925 A Cuckoo in the Nest (adapted from his 1922 novel)
• 1926 Rookery Nook (adapted from his 1923 novel)
• 1927 Thark
• 1928 Plunder
• 1928 Mischief
• 1929 A Cup of Kindness
• 1930 A Night Like This
• 1931 Turkey Time
• 1932 Dirty Work
• 1933 A Bit of a Test
• 1936 Chastity, My Brother
• 1936 O Mistress Mine
• 1938 Banana Ridge
• 1939 Spotted Dick
• 1943 She Follows Me About
• 1947 Outrageous Fortune
• 1952 Wild Horses
• 1975 The Bed Before Yesterday
• 1980 After You With the Milk

References[link]

• Five Plays by Ben Travers, W. H. Allen 1977. 1979 Penguin reprint ISBN 0-14-048146-X