By the time these recordings were made, Django had toured the US and made his last recordings with the original Hot Club de France. There was to be one last set of sessions with Stephane Grappelli - which forms the bulk of the first three albums of this collection. The sessions arose from an engagement at a Roman club - the Rupe Tarpea. Reinhardt and Grappelli took it when no other work was on offer. The pair had to face two realities. First, their wartime separation had led to new directions and collaborations. Second, their dwindling audiences wanted to hear their hits - making any evolution difficult. The first cut, Over The Rainbow perhaps defines the Django/Stephane relationship: Grappelli struts his stuff as a lead-in to Django's more agile pyrotechnics. And even as Django supplies rhythm support he can't resist interjections that show him to be the boss and the master of his instrument. Ironically, on the second track - Night And Day Grappelli is much more able than Django to extract pathos from a haunting tune. The stars are reworking some material. For example, Django had recorded a different version of Night And Day with trumpeter Rex Stewart in 1947. And the pre-war Hot Club had recorded Nagasaki, Minor Swing, Sweet Georgia Brown and Swing '39. But this is refinement, not repetition. And Manoir de Mes Reves here was the last time Reinhardt and Grappelli would record together. No dramatic bust-up. Possibly both men felt they had nowhere else to go. Django returned to Rome in 1950 with changes. Grappelli is replaced by alto player André Ekyan and Django is playing an electric guitar. The Italian backing musicians are more than competent, but this is entirely Ekyan and Reinhardt's show - pianist Schécroun is not planning anything attention grabbing, and the rhythm section... supplies rhythm. There's some fine solo work here from Django and Ekyan who frequently revisit material. No harm in that. Anything by Django merits repeated listening.
J**.
Fantastic
The item arrived in perfect condition and on schedule These are fantastic recording , some with Django playing electric guitar The rhythm section are mostly Italian who play marvelously , especially Aurello de Carolis on drums Great use of brushes
A**R
Five Stars
Don't expect the perfectly executed Django solos of the War Years or the Hot Club here. And it's not yet the bebop Django of a year or two later. The Rome set features a Django that sometimes bordered on sloppy, was showing some bebop influence, and had left far behind the "pompe" rhythms of the Quintette. The best I can come up with for his playing on this set is "relaxed brilliance." He's much closer mic'ed than earlier recordings, and the Selmer guitar sparkles throughout the acoustic recordings with Grappelli. He casually takes us along on his unending exploration for the coolest intervals and hottest runs. Occasionally he drops a note, but the ones he hits are amazing.By now, Grappelli was a recognized virtuoso, and demonstrates it well throughout. What surprised me was the nicely done stride piano by one Gianni Safred -- no Art Tatum, but jumps pretty well. One critique I'd have would be that the band seemed to use pretty much the same four bar piano intro (1/3, 2#dim, 2m, 5) on a bunch of these songs. The feel is much more modern than the Quintette sets, but still swings.The 1950 Ekyan recordings are even more modern, featuring Django on electric -- I assume it's the Selmer with a pickup? -- if it's not a completely different guitar, it sounds like one. But Django tears it up, playing some dazzling solos. Ekyan I can pretty much do without.Overall, a very listenable set. No scratchy archival recordings -- most of it is very clear and well-recorded. I think it might appeal to the jazz fan, because it fits more in the mold of "early jazz" than the Hot Club stuff, much of which was more ragtime than jazz. I prefer the sets with Grappelli, mostly because I'd rather listen to his fiddle than Ekyan's sax.Strong buy.
K**G
A worthy addition to JSP's first two Django box sets
This is JSP's third great box set of Django Reinhardt recordings, and anyone who likes jazz guitar or just great music in general has to really appreciate their contribution. Taken together, these three sets provide a fairly complete (and very skillfully remastered) compilation of most of Django's known recordings.I first hesitated to get this third set (Django in Rome 1949-1950) because many of the songs were included in "The Indispensable Django Reinhardt" which I already owned. Having listened to it now, though, I have no regrets about the purchase. Not only is the sound quality much better than "The Indispensible Django Reinhardt," but the additional songs included turn out to be many of Django's best recordings.Of the four disks, the first three consist mainly of Django playing in 1949 in Rome with his old partner on violin, Stephane Grappelli, and the last disk contains recordings in 1950 with another old friend, Andre Ekyan, on alto sax and clarinet. In both cases the soloists are backed by competent Italian backup bands consisting of piano, bass and drums. Many of the recordings with Grappelli, in particular, rank with the very best of the original Quintet of the Hot Club of France, and it's quite interesting to see how they rework some of the same songs that they'd first recorded together a decade earlier.One thing that should be mentioned is that, contrary to the title shown on the Amazon page, these are not live recordings and the name on the box set itself doesn't say "live." It would be great to have a box set like this of live recordings of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli, but as far as I know nothing like that exists. In any case, it's at least fortunate that so many remarkable studio recordings have been preserved and now remastered.
H**N
Django in Rome 1949-1950 4-cd box set on JSP
Worth the price alone for the unique version of "Minor Blues '49." But, not much more. Django without the Quintette du Hot Club de France may let you down and, unfortunately, many of the recordings presented here by JSP have been mastered a little quickly with the pitch. Or, perhaps they were released without proper mastering. Either way, if you don't mind a few "chipmunk" sounding guitar runs, then this set won't let you down. Especially for 15 bucks. Hey, it's Django! Even if the music sounds like the band's on meth once in a while.Be sure to give a good listen to the sample Mp3s listed under each of the 4 individual discs before purchasing. Sample Mp3s aren't listed under the box-set.
D**C
Buy it!!!
Great performances. Grouped in chronological order. Great price. Excellent remastering from what some would be "well-loved" copies.And DJANGO!What more could you ask for??? Get it! You won't be disappointed.
A**R
Worth adding to your collection
Good but not the best collection
J**E
Reinhardt at his best
Transition between acoustic and electric guitar is seamless. His finger technique is unique amongst jazz guitarist world over. The music digital remastering is truly unique, clear and crisp.
A**R
Five Stars
One of the best Django collections.
W**S
CLASS
For the last fifty years we have been spoon-fed on popular music that uses the same four chords repeated ad nauseum. Here you will savour some classic songs from one of the world's finest guiarists. Django Reinhardts ability to play the way he does is utterly profound because Django lost the use of three of his fingers from serious injuries he sustained in a fire. Here you will hear some of Django's finest performances and be amazed and enthralled at the sheer beauty and brilliance of this incredible man's muscianship. Is there another Django out there that can change the face of pop music? - I hope so - but the bar is set HIGH.FIVE STARS
Y**T
Great value......
.....I bought an LP of the same title in 1972. A real rice crispie of a record, one of my favourites over the years. These discs are much cleaner, sparkling even.
C**Y
Five Stars
Fantastic
H**E
Django at his best
Django at his best in great remastered sound. If you like Django, you won't be disappointed.
A**N
Five Stars
Amazing player....... as are pretty much all recordings of his work.
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