Django Reinhardt - Honeysuckle Rose - London, 31.01.1938

Django Reinhardt et le Quintette du Hot Club de France, avec Stéphane Grappelli Stéphane Grappelli (vln); Djanqo Reinhardt (g solo); Roger Chaput, Eugène Vées (g); Louis Vola (b) 1938 January 31 - Decca, London In a way, this 1938 version of "Honeysuckle Rose" is a throwback to the earliest recordings of the QHCF. It is set in a bouncy two-beat, and Reinhardt takes the first solo, going back and forth between melody and improvisation. But closer listening shows that the group had come a long way in just over three years. First of all, Django's style had evolved to primarily single-string solos. While his earlier recordings showed him to be a master of varying styles from single-string to chords to runs to maintain listener interest, his recordings from this period show a new confidence in the strength of his single lines. His "Honeysuckle" solo has only one little octave outburst, yet we are captivated by his solo. He is also more harmonically savvy, and the "outside" note choices he makes sound much more assured than on his Japanese Sandman solo of six months earlier. Grappelli's rhythmic sense is more attuned than on the early sides and his playing displays elegance and fire simultaneously. The little ensemble figure Reinhardt and Grappelli play in the final chorus is simply delightful, and when Grappelli solos during the bridge, there is Django offering vocal encouragement.