Stephane Grappelli
Steve Voce
Further to the other postings about Stephane, I travelled to London from
my home in Liverpool yesterday to present a tribute programme on the BBC
national channel. Since everything had to be done in haste, I improvised
a lot of the programme and added records (including a beautiful Time
After Time from his solo piano album). But, for what it's worth, here's
the script I wrote before I left home.
This evening we are interrupting Digby Fairweather's sequence of Jazz
Notes repeats to mark the death last night of the French jazz violinist
Stephane Grappelli .
DISC; TUNE UP (Miles Davis) publ. Prestige Music Co. From album
'Stephanova' by Stephane Grappelli on Concord CCD-4225. Side 1, track 1.
2' 25"
STEVE: Although things have changed now, in earlier days few European
jazz musicians achieved world status. One thinks of the Swedish baritone
saxophonist Lars Gullin and the French pianist Martial Solal during the
Fifties, but apart from them the only European players to stand out
world-wide were Stephane Grappelli and his partner the guitarist Django
Reinhardt. And they did it as long ago as 1934 when the Quintet of the
Hot Club of France was first formed.
Reinhardt was the genius of course, and the earthy power of his
guitar playing was and remains unique. Stephane was more sophisticated,
but when he needed to, he could get down in the musical gutter with
Django. Their group had roots in the European folk tradition as well as
in the nightclubs of Broadway. It was in turn gay, forceful, humourous,
tender and, above all, swinging in a way that until the Quintet arrived,
had been unknown in Europe.
DISC: MY SWEET (comp Reinhardt/Grappelli) publ. SDRM, EMI Music Publ.
Ltd. From the album 'Django Reinhardt Vol. 2' on JSP CD 342, side 1,
track 4. 2' 51".
'My Sweet' by the Hot Club Quintet, recorded in January 1938.
Despite being nearly 60 years old the music packs a wallop that's just
as potent today. Goodness knows what it's impact must have been on the
listeners of the Thirties.
Grappelli was born in Paris on January 26, 1908. As a youngster
he played piano and violin, being mostly self-taught on both
instruments. He became a professional jazz musician in 1927. He became a
fluent jazz soloist early on and a match for his only rival, the
American Joe Venuti.
His musical relationship with Django was without flaw, but off
stage things were rather different. Flip Phillips suggested that Django
'was a gipsy who had burnt his hand in a caravan fire and only had three
fingers. All he could steal was bowling balls.' Vivid imagining by
Phillips, but Grappelli had much trouble then and later with Django's
immense gipsy family. When the two had a job at a theatre or hotel the
local gypsies would hear about it and turn up in their dressing room.
Stephane would go back there to find them plucking and cooking chickens
they'd stolen. Stephan never liked gypsies and they loved to create
trouble for him. When he and Reinhardt finally split up gypsies would
frequently sit in the front rows at Grappelli's performances and barrack
him.
Reinhardt was thoroughly unreliable. 'Often' said Grappelli, '
he forgot to appear because his only clock was the sun.' Understandably
Grappelli had to be the business manager and Django trusted him
implicitly. But he was sensitive about his inability to read, and would
pretend to check contracts after Grappelli had approved them. Once he
pretended to read a contract the two were being offered for a booking in
London. He pointed to a line in the contract and said that it was
unacceptable. The enraged Grappelli snatched the paper from him and read
the line. It was to guarantee the two first class return air fares to
England.
Jazzing the classics was a process much looked down on in those
days, but the swing interpretation of the 1st movement of Bach's
concerto in D minor was by comparison quite tastefully done. Grappelli
teamed with the American violinist Eddie South and the two were backed
simply by Django's guitar.
DISC: SWING INTERPRETATION OF THE 1ST MOVEMENT OF BACH'S CONCERTO IN D
MINOR (comp. J. S. Bach). From album The Genius Of Django Vol 4 on
World Records SM 644. Side 2, track 4. 2' 25"
Grappelli spent the war in England, working often with, amongst
others, pianist George Shearing. After the war he and Reinhardt tried
to pick up where they had left off, but they had been apart too long and
the partnership was doomed. When Reinhardt died in 1953 Grappelli
preferred to use a pianist with his groups and his career went into
comparative decline.
He himself could have had a second career as a pianist….
Time After Time (piano solo) added here.
It revived again in 1973 when Diz Disley persuaded him to come to
Britain to work with the old quintet formula, two guitars and a bass.
The group took off and in 1974 the violinist was given a standing
ovation in Carnegie Hall. From then on the world was his oyster. He went
on to make innumerable recordings, including amongst them four albums
with Yehudi Menuhin. But although they respected each other the two
men's music didn't find common ground and the results were
disappointing.
The violinist went on to play with many of the jazz greats, including
Miles Davis, Gary Burton, Oscar Peterson, Earl Hines. He also worked
with younger musicians, notably the guitarists Larry Coryell, Philip
Catherine and Martin Taylor and John Ethridge.
DISC
In 1989 Grappelli recorded with the classical cellist Yo Yo Ma, but this
was music aimed at the audience that had fallen for his recordings with
Menuhin and wasn't high on jazz values. But Grappelli's own playing
seemed to get better as he grew older. As I said earlier, he began
working as a jazz musician in 1928 and thus his career, which extended
over seven decades, is surely amongst the longest in the whole of jazz.
Right to the end his playing was characterised by a verve and fire which
a man half his age would have been proud of. While his sweet tone and
swing roots remained intact throughout, he was always ready to play in
any musical company. We leave him now with one of his last recordings
made with the pianist Michel Petrucciani, bassist George Mraz and
drummer Roy Haynes. As the violin soars we reflect on Ellington's old
cliché, beyond category, and wish you goodnight from me Steve Voce and
from producer Terry Carter
Also played Sweet Georgia Brown by the HCFQ and Love For Sale from
Stephane at the Winery (Concord).
--
Steve Voce
msu...@ix.netcom.com
Steve Voce wrote:
>
> Further to the other postings about Stephane, I travelled to London from
> my home in Liverpool yesterday to present a tribute programme on the BBC
> national channel. Since everything had to be done in haste, I improvised
> a lot of the programme and added records (including a beautiful Time
> After Time from his solo piano album). But, for what it's worth, here's
> the script I wrote before I left home.
[most of lovely script snipped]
Steve, thanks for posting this! Like many guitarists, I have a special
fondness for Stephane, due to his long association with great
guitarists. My tastes tend to start with bebop, but Stephane's playing
always moved me very much.
> The violinist went on to play with many of the jazz greats, including
> Miles Davis, Gary Burton, Oscar Peterson, Earl Hines. He also worked
> with younger musicians, notably the guitarists Larry Coryell, Philip
> Catherine and Martin Taylor and John Ethridge.
I just listened to my tape of his Atlantic LP with Gary Burton, which is
one of my favorites that hasn't been mentioned in the "Grappelli
Recommendations" thread. It would be nice if Atlantic/Rhino would
reissue this.
Your list of guitarists reminds me of the one time I saw Stephane
live...I think in the late 70s, in Ann Arbor. He had John Etheridge and
Martin Taylor with him. I knew Etheridge only from his fusion days with
Soft Machine, and had never even heard of Taylor. You can imagine what a
jaw-dropping experience that was from a guitar standpoint, and
Stephane's playing was gorgeous as always. It's one of my fondest
concert memories.
Mark Sullivan
msu...@ix.netcom.com
Larry Grinnell
I had the distinct privilege to see Stephane Grappelli play in South Florida
not once, but twice--first at the late, lamented Musician's Exchange back in
the mid-80s. He was touring with Marc Fosset--a fine, spirited player.
This past year, he played for a packed house at Palm Beach Community College
auditorium. He was brought out in a wheelchair (for goodness sake, he was 88
then!), where he stayed for the show, but once he began playing, you forgot
about his infirmities. This show had him in the excellent company of Bucky
Pizzarelli on guitar (one of my guitar heroes, and one with whom Stephane
played quite often over the years), and John Burr on bass. In spite of a
few technical glitches (a bad cable on Burr's bass, and Stephane constantly
shaking his bow at the sound technicians for a perceived bad mix (I'll bet he
was right, too), the show was wonderful. It was a full 2-1/2 hours
(including a small intermission)--just wonderful. What a treat to be in that
audience! Oh yeah, during the second half of the show, he played the piano,
too, jacked up so he could be wheeled up to it to play.
My favorite recording of Grappelli was a strictly acoustic outing with
7-string guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli. The recording was on a French division
of WEA, but never (to my knowledge) offered for sale in the States (I bought
my copy in Frankfurt, Germany while stationed there in the Air Force).
The album, Duet (Ahead 33.755/WE 341) was recorded at the Black and Blue open
air studio in Nice. It's worth hunting down.
Stephane, you will be missed. I just feel so fortunate to have shared your air
on two wonderful occasions.
Larry Grinnell