Conference in Paris – 1980
Larry Coryell, Philip Catherine, Stephane Grappelli and Niels Henning Ørsted-Pedersen – Live in Paris – May 3, 1980 – RFI
An homage to Django Rheinhardt this weekend, via guitarists Larry Coryell and Philip Catherine, the renowned violinist Stephane Grappelli and bassist Niels Henning Ørsted-Pedersen, recorded at Espace Cardin in Paris on May 3, 1980 and preserved for posterity by Radio France.
This concert finds veteran violinist Stephane Grappelli joined by bassist Niels Pedersen and guitarists Philip Catherine and Larry Coryell for a memorable tribute to Django Reinhardt, which came via an album the year before. Grappelli had recorded many Reinhardt memorial albums through the years but this collaboration particularly special for both Coryell and Catherine go out of their way to display the unexpected influence that Reinhardt has had on their styles. The guitarists contribute a song apiece and also enjoy playing seven compositions co-written by Django and Grappelli.
Django Reinhardt (1910-1953) was a legend. Leonard Feather’s “Encyclopedia of Jazz” called him “the First overseas musician ever to influence his jazz contemporaries in America”. He influenced thousands of guitar players the world over.
Three of the four musicians playing on the record and this gig – the Belgian Philip Catherine, the American Larry Coryell and the Dane Niels-Henning Orsted-Pedersen – had never met Django. And yet, it was logical they all came together. They “feel” Django. Ever since Philip came on the scene, years ago in Jean-Luc Ponty’s band, musicians, fans and critics alike felt: He is the “Django of the Seventies”. Philip, when he was 9 or 10 years old, stayed in the same house in Brussels where Django used to play. Philip’s uncle lived upstairs, Django played downstairs. It was in the “Galleric St. Hubert”… thus the title of Philip’s lovely ballad.
And of course, Stephane Grappelli knew Django. Stephane Grappelli, a French jazz violinist who helped shatter the image of jazz as an exclusively American art form, was the last surviving member of the Hot Club Quintet – the rage of European jazz fans in the 1930s when he teamed up with Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt.
Hit the Play button and enjoy.
