British guitarist reacts to Django Reinhardt paving the way, against the odds 

During one performance, Sergovia was in the audience and was amazed at Django’s playing. After the performance, Sergovia approached Django and asked where he could buy the sheet music for his what he was playing. Django apparently just laughed and explained he had ‘just’ been improvising.

Fil, the fact that a young man like yourself can appreciate and enjoy the old masters is heartening.

Tony Iommi cut off his finger tips while using a sheet metal cutter at his job place. He was an amazing guitarist and was surely going to be a success and thought his career was over. His boss brought him into his office and played him a recording of Django Reinhardt to show him that he could still be a success despite his injury. The rest is history.

Ok. Django mesmerized me the first time I heard him. Not just the skill but the amazing ability to take you on an emotional roller coaster ride. One of a kind.

My dad was a guitarist who grew up in the depression and fought in the Normandy invasion. He had a special affection for Django. I grew up listening to Django and it brings me joy every time I hear his music. He imbued incredible joy and energy in his music. I'm so grateful that you highlighted him. He was an inspiration to so many. And still is thanks to you! 💖

Ridiculously hard run at 3:35 with four fingers let alone two! He’s the king of gypsy jazz guitar...he died way to young at 43😔. One of the best gypsy guitarist out there now is named Joscho Stephan. He’s German 🤔

One of Glen Campbell's major influences in terms of playing guitar was Reinhardt. Beginning when Glen was young, he played Reinhardt's records over and over, learning by ((ear)) from this trailblazer. Thanks so much for featuring a guitar master from way back!

I know BB King dug him. Such an inspiration! After losing my left leg and my sight partially, I was ready to quit. After 5 years of no playing, I said Django did it with 2 fingers, so can you! The only limits any of us have are the ones we impose upon ourselves! Thanks Fil once again for the great vids and inspiration!

''I'm the best guitarist in the world except for this gypsy who lives in France. '' Woody Allen movie.

I totally love that you review any guitar player from any genre or any era. I had never heard of this guitar player before. Thanks. Rock!

Django was one of my heros. Such a tough life that most would have given up... he persevered. He played with many of the best of Europe.

Django was and is an inspiration for all who love guitar playing,in any genre.A true genious that created a singular jazz style which i love and with a bunch of "sons".

I've listened to Django for many hours in my life. I'm a classical pianist - what I am amazed by the most is his musicality. For example his tone is just heart-melting. My favourite piece by him is "Manoir de mes reves" where in the middle he plays the solo - and immediately the last note of the first phrase, the tender gentle vibrato, the wonderful sonority and projection... Ehh, what I mean is I could possibly fall in love with his music based on just one single note without any context, just the quality of the sound. And then there's the genius and the wonderful music.

Check out his later recordings 1946 -53 he is absolutely fab; his note choice through really complex chord progressions and the speed and accuracy of his picking would embarrass many modern shredders or jazzers -I really do think he is king of the guitar he pioneered it as a soloists instrument for modern music.

Djanjo Reinhardt had obstacles, but that never stopped him from doing amazing things with the guitar. He influenced so many people in the music world. May he rest in peace. Great video. Cheers Fil.

Thanks for doing the incomparable Django Reinhardt; what a great soulful guitarist . Even though there are hundreds of songs he recorded, there is very little film of him.

He not only play fast (that lick at 3:34 omg) he play fast, but most important, in a beautiful and melodic way. Such an amazing guitarist. I recommend listen "I´ll see you in my dreams". Please sorry for my english, Im from Argentina

I’ve been a Django fan for years. Never could figure out how the hell he did that stuff with limited digits, but so glad he did. Thanks, Fil, for bringing this one to us. It’s absolutely awesome that at your young age you have an appreciation of some of the old greats…thanks!

And mic drop moment please! My jaw dropped listening to this! Thanks for sharing!

I watch several "react" post. But You may be the best for the simple reason You go back to the roots and seem to really enjoy and respect the People you react to.

Several years ago I read a magazine interview where Jeff Beck said that he rated Django as being the greatest guitarist ever. He also said that he rated John McLaughlin as being the best living guitarist.

I have several dozen of my great gramma Burke's 78's. Among them are several of Django playing with the Quintet of the Hot Club of France.

Thanks so much for covering Django, I wasn't expecting this! I had the good fortune to see Stephan Grappelli in the late 70's at a smallish club. Didn't really know what to expect, just knew that it was jazz violin, and we were blown away! Martin Taylor was on guitar, and that was the first time I saw someone play super fast runs on acoustic guitar. Wow! Saw Martin again years later with David Grisman, had a chance to chat with him about seeing him with Stephan, he was very friendly.

Willie Nelson's favorite and the inspiration for his picking style on Trigger..greay stuff

Django Reinhardt, Father of the Guitar Solo. Thank You

Oh wow! This takes me back to my childhood. I had an uncle who was an astoundingly good guitarist (he could play anything but guitar was his favorite) and his hero was Django. He played his records over and over. My uncle would be a little over 100 if he were alive today He would have loved seeing your analysis!

A friend of mine, a pianist by the name of Alan Clare, who passed away some time ago now, told me a story of a time just. after the war in the late 1940s when Django paid a visit to London and stayed at the flat of guitarist Dave Goldberg in Old Compton Street. Alan and Django were walking along the street around midnight and there was a bright full moon high in the sky. Django exclaimed (in French of course) "Goodness me, look at the moon, it's exactly the same as the one we have in France !" Incidentally when I started learning the guitar in 1956 at the age of eight, my teacher started me off listening to "Hot Club" recordings - I have never recovered since ! Thanks for posting this - it is delightful !

I've been a player of this style for over 17 years playing professionally. Django 's genius is his style besides being an astounding technical player. When you transcribe his solos and learn how to play it with two fingers it becomes a lot more intuitive and actually easier versus 4 fingers. Before his accident, Django was playing as a pro in Parisian musette dance halls from age 9 and actually started on violin. He was a prodigy/genius and literally a walking tape recorder. They use to play a musical game in the Gypsy camps where players would play 8 bars or so of a unique melody one after another and you had to copy the melodies. The story goes that Django was able to replicate 16 melodies in a row flawlessly after hearing it once. It's clear that he also developed his sound by his musical God, Louis Armstrong. You can actually hear it in his phrasing in Saint Louis Blues and earlier 1920's recordings before he evolved into bebop. The 1st time he heard Louis Armstrong was on a wax drum recording, he apparently froze in the middle of the room and swore in Romany and said "...my brother, my brother..." repeatedly. One more story: Django could not read or write, it's funny when looking at pictures of him pretend reading or writing which he staged to make him appear more intellectual/educated. When he arrived in the US on Duke Ellington's invitation, when Duke inquired what key he preferred Django had no concept what he was talking about and said that he was happy with his hotel keys. lol

Spectacular video. My favorite of yours so far. I really enjoyed the history and the stories at the end. You should add those stories more often! Great video!

Fil, I mentioned this guitar player on another of your (more recent) videos, and you replied that you had done him. It took me a minute to find it, but yes, you did feature him...here. Thank you. This jazz notable should be more heralded than what he has been. Thanks that a young man such as you do some of these older players right, by helping to keep their memories alive and on everyone's radar. I love so many of your videos on here.

Great appraisal as usual Fil. Your representation of ALL fields n times of music makes your message all the more meaningfull. Keep up the great work.

Few musicians, especially guitarists, cannot be fascinated or enthusiastic about Django's music. He is an absolute exceptional talent. His musicality is unique and has influenced countless musicians. I was very lucky to be able to experience Stéphane Grapelli live and visit him backstage. He was so sympathetic and charming.

Fil, this was fantastic! So happy you didn't just evaluate Django's incredible talent, but touched on his backstory as well. 👍👍👍

Django was a huge influence on guitarists like Les Paul, Jeff Beck, Jerry Garcia and so many great players. He is still inspiring guitarists today along with those over the past six decades. He's one of the few guitarists who have written their own musical canon for that instrument changing it forever.

I am never disappointed when I choose one of your videos to watch. You do such a great job, Fil.

I'm always impressed with that fast chromatic scale, given everything is played with only two fingers. Outstanding performance, wonderful music.

For me, this is the most important clip ever saved and memorialized on RU-vid. There is next to nothing existing of Django on video. This is it, basically. How valuable would be found film of Django?! I've watched this about 1000 times and am always awestruck. These guys were comparable to the Beatles in quality and quantity of genius recordings. Grapelli and Reinhart = Lennon and McCartney

Enjoyed your video. John McLaughlin is probably one of the most technically proficient acoustic guitarists ever. He recently said that he still can’t play some of the things Django played. I suppose that would work both ways 😀 You can hear Django’s influence on JM and many other great players. Toni Iommi was inspired by his perseverance through disablement. Personally I just want to pick up my guitar every time I hear him or any other guitarists who plays in “gypsy” style. There is something really free immediate and energising in that style.

Fabulous Fil! Thank you for presenting Django. My understanding is that he had burns on quite a bit of his body which led to having to use a cane. Both physical and political stress...to still be creative. He kept going even though he could have been thrown in a concentration camp for being a gypsy or a jazz artist. What a great man and of course the power of music! Thanx!

It's amazing that despite his disability, he could play songs like Mystery Pacific so fast that the rest of the band struggled to keep up. Django and Stefan were also a really unlikely pairing, with Stefan being very disciplined and Django having a much more casual approach to all things and such different backgrounds in life. I guess it's evidence of how music can unify and bring people together.

I saw this clip a few years back, but now excited to hear your review! Inspiration! Love the backstories!

100 years old yet still relevant in the sense that its musicality transcends time and still inspires and entertains

Thanks for reviewing this video, I've watched it numerous times and I'm amazed that Django Reinhardt, I have to vinyl albums of him and stephane Grappelli, they are hardly ever off the autochanger :)

Fil, you have become also a teacher in musical history, besides your musical analysis. That why your videos are so much worth looking at!

What a great story having to deal with not only his environment but also his physical limitations, amazing player! I'm sure that this man has been an inspiration to many through the years, being a non-player myself it was a true pleasure!Good one Fil ♡

The DJANGO story should be required learning for everyone. Even people who don’t listen to music or play guitar. The world would be a better place. Bravo Fil.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the vids I've seen from you thus far, this being my favorite, due to the fact that the story within it shows that the soul and desire can prevail over adversity. Thanks and keep em coming! ✌🏻

What a wonderful review to watch and listen to. Your historical comments at the end were both fascinating and inspiring. Thanks for posting this one!

The same rock and roller guitar teacher of mine that turned me onto Glen Campbell also told me about Django but, at that time you couldn't go to youtube and see him play. When I finally saw him play I didn't play for a week. Now we have Willie for a little while longer.

I get tears when I watch Django. Seriously...think of how much heart he had to go on after losing half of his tools.

Really thanks for this one Fil..been a huge fan of his for years..

Thanks for showcasing this pioneer, you are a credit to the art of music

Regardless of the song, these old recordings never cease to amaze me. From the depths of sadness and dispair to extreme joys, any song he played is instantly identifiable. BTW, there's a company that still makes these old Selmer designed guitars. Buying a Selmer 503, however, doesn't guarantee that you'll play this well... You will get credit for having one of the coolest guitars around though! LOL!

Inspirational!! Django Reinhardt was the only artist from my dad's music that I could stand when I was young (back in the 60's). Dad had an album of Reinhardt, Grappelli, and the Hot 5 -- and we, as kids, played it over and over again. It competed for playtime with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich. It was the only one of dad's album's that was allowed anywhere near the record player when dad wasn't around. I had no idea about his disability, or suppression by the Nazis, until your clip. I was just entranced by his upbeat virtuoso style. Thank you, yet again, for another brilliant clip.

Wow you went full Django!!! I wasn’t expecting that, great job!!

Thanks so much for doing this, enjoyed it a lot!

Amazing how the internet is bringing to life with such clarity, thanks to the accessibility of these videos, amazing players like Django. When I first started playing guitar I'd heard his name come up in typical lists of "greatest guitarists ever" and that sort of thing. But it wasnt till about a year or 2 ago that I actually saw that 1939 J'attendrai video for the first time, and like you I was absolutely blown away. Before I saw that video I mostly just played rock and heavy metal guitar, but since then I've been playing almost exclusively jazz. Seriously, that Django clip was life changing for me.

An authentic genius of music, a pure creator. The word "Disabled" should disappear from the dictionary.

nuages from hot club de paris 1949 I think. mind blowingly beautiful playing. My favourite by django and stephan

In the early eighties I only used to watch live bands and I'd often strike up a conversation with guitarists because i loved Rock music and I was search for that thing that made the music give me goosebumps. Django was always mentioned as an inspiration. I eventually found that "thang" the more I played guitar. It was the "blues note".

I have heard of this genius all my life as a huge Tony Iommi fan, but this is my first time seeing and hearing him for myself. Thank you for the introduction ! I loved your Samantha Fish video, big pleasant surprise for me!

Amazing, thanks for posting!

You continue to show us fans of music and talent (aka people who play an instrument but are not musicians) insights, history and technical information that bring us back every time - regardless of who you are reviewing. I'm a 60 y.o. American that really enjoys hearing talent from abroad. One group I'd love to hear your view of is Katzenjammer. All female band - all play multiple instruments and appear to be dedicated musicians/performers (I saw a vid where the lead vocalist was performing at what appears to be 9 months pregnant. Impressive.) They also seem to have a fan base that is riveted to them on stage. Rock, jazz, Dixieland jazz, polka - and impressive harmonies. Based on what I've learned from you, and occasionally via my own ear, they seem to have an occasional technical flaw, but lots of fun to watch and listen to. Thank you for what you do.

Fil, thank you for posting this video. I have cerebral palsy and the dexterity in my hands are affected. This video humbles me and gives me hope. God Bless you. Please do not forget about Carl Perkins. I would love your thoughts on his playing of "Matchbox."

Great feature and analysis, Fil. I'm pretty sure I've heard somewhere that Tony Iommi knew of the difficulties that Django coped with, and was inspired by that to keep playing after his own accident, although he had much less of an impediment, and better means of overcoming it (his original prosthetic finger extensions were from a melted washing up liquid bottle, and moulded to his fingers himself). The rest, as they say, is history! And many other musicians have fought against seemingly insurmountable odds to achieve their success - the first person ever to achieve a career as a full time touring feature virtuoso percussionist was Dame Evelyn Glennie CH - profoundly deaf by the age of 11due to a condition which caused her hearing to deteriorate from age 2. In addition to hundreds of percussive instruments, she also plays Clarinet, harmonica and Highland bagpipes. You knew I'd particularly enjoy hearing Stephane Grappelli as well, didn't you? :-)

What a fantastic video! Great choice! Love what you are doing here! Keep it up! Terrific channel!

I'm very glad you did this analysis of Django Reinhardt. I've known of him when I was young, but only had a chance to hear him recently

My parents instilled a love of all music in my brothers and me. We listened to everything and loved it all. My parents used to go downtown to East St. Louis and dance to the Ike and Tina Turner Review but they loved Classical too... Fil I truly appreciate that you feature artists from ever genre of music and especially that you can always find the beauty and proficiency in what they are preforming. 🎼🖤

The best there ever was , phrasing , timing .............cleverness in the solos.......its all amazing.............his personality rings through on everything AmAZING

That one lick just blew me away! He does it better than I can, and I have all my fingers! On an acoustic guitar too! Wow! What a talented guy!👍😎🎸🎶

Fantastic melodies from Django. Thanks for doing this.

If you notice the positioning of the band is key. Bass lifted and toward the back so it can push the bottom. His brothers on each side with slight distance variation; playing different chord voicing, giving a wide stereophonic mid-range quality. Django out front so the melodies can ride the waves. And the violin soars above.These guys knew how to move air. Great vids, Man!

Love him or hate him, there wouldn't be any Woody Allen movies without this sort of jazzy guitar sound. Love the Django sound.

A fascinating and cool insight into a pioneer of music. Despite the adversities he faced. A genuine legend. Top work, Fil. Thanks for sharing. 👍😎

This is my favourite one I’ve seen thanks Fil

Django and Charlie Christian were both prologue to what became jazz guitar. CC in America with his swing/blues (overdriven) electric and DJ in Europe with his unique chromatism played on an odd-looking acoustic. Gypsy and other regional folk music inspired many of the "Masters" of Baroque, Classical, and Romantic music. Django is part of this tradition.

Been enjoying every video you have done!,👍

Love how you appreciate music, keep it up lad,godspeed

Great pic Fil, this guy influenced countless guitarists, particularly back in the 60's I believe; a lot of the shred playing evolved from him. He paid his dues that's for sure, quite a history he had growing up and developing. Lots of lessons to be learned from him.

That was unexpected, but it shows that you know the history of your instrument. Thanks for thinking out of the box. U got to love Django, he's the the final boss of gypsy jazz.

Thank you! I had always heard about Django Reinhardt but never heart him. He is amazing and the tone is so clear!

Oh man that run @ 3:35 with just 2 fingers!

I saw on the LS chat last night that you had done an analysis of Django Reinhardt and I had to check it out. I discovered Django thanks to a movie called Sweet & Lowdown made back in the 90's. His music is transporting - it takes my imagination to that time. I don't think I ever knew about his finger damage. That he was able to adapt is a triumph of the human spirit. 🖤🤘

My earliest childhood memories are of my fathers Django Reinhardt EPs which we would play on a gramophone. If you go to some bars in Paris you wills see and hear many Gypsy Jazz musicians continuing Django's tradition.

Amazing! keep up the good work Fil! you got it! always good taste:)

As amazing as Django Reinhardt was, I think you may have focused a little too much on the "overcoming adversity" aspect of his story. What struck me in his solo was its melodicsm, swing, and surprise; it did not go where I expected.

Thank you Phil. This performance ftom the hot club and your comments are uplifting.

I like your videos, very interesting you explain a lot about guitar playing keep up the good work.

That run at 3:30 blows my mind every time i hear it :D this man also inspired Tony Iommi to keep playing after he chopped the ends off his fingers.

Another excellent analysis!👍😎you have turned me on to some cats I've never heard of! I really love the old musicians, their music is so clean and pure without all the theatrics.

Hi guys, just to let you know after I read a comment I 'like' and 'love' it to indicate I've read it! I respond to as many as I can, and write down every request. ROCK! \m/

Dude ....love love your channel....you're a bright spot in the world ....thanks

Django!! Django!! An inspiration to all guitarists every where but especially Tony Iommi. What a guy. There is a great story during the war in Paris where Picasso was handing out postcards of his painting Guernica & some German soldier takes one & says " did you do this? " & Picasso says " No you guys did ". Burn! Soldier got scored!!

It just makes me happy in my Soul when anyone raises the awareness of Django. When i was in Paris, i went to Montmartre to hear the Gypsy or Jazz Manouché played by many Django devotees. It was such a treat! Still, as good as they played, all had the full compliment of fingers. Oddly enough, the first i heard of Django was in my teens, and it was Willie Nelson who spoke about how his playing is inspired by Django. It is a tad more rudimentary, but once you know this, you hear it in almost all of Willie's playing.

LOVE everything about this video and how passionate the presentation is about Django !! It is truly an INSPIRATION about how we can overcome our handicaps or weaknesses and rise above!! KUDOS to Django...what an awesome guy! :)

Just beautiful... one of the most inspirational and influential early players! Love to see more jazz players... bluegrass & metal too! 🤘

Excellent video Fil !!

DJANGO REINHARDT!!!!!! ONE OF MY FAVORITE DAMN GUITARISTS OF ALL TIME!

Enjoy all of your “react” vids and you’re a fine player and vocalist. You have many gifts, Fil, including a very pleasant and engaging personal style and demeanor. Thank you...

Ah found it. I went to the Django festival just outside Paris once and it was amazing. People and artists come from all over the world to play at it. Whenever I hear Django I think of the movie sweet and lowdown, a mockumentary about the second best gipsy jazz guitarist played by Sean Penn.