STEPHANE GRAPPELLI

Stéphane Grappelli (26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997) was a French jazz violinist who founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt. It was one of the first (and arguably the most famous) of all-string jazz bands.

Biography

Birth name: Stéphane Grappelli
Born: 26 January 1908
Origin: Paris, France
Died: 1 December 1997 (aged 89)
Genre(s): Swing, Continental Jazz, Gypsy jazz,
Occupation(s): Violinist
Instrument(s) :Violin, Piano
Associated acts: Oscar Peterson, Django Reinhardt

Early years

Grappelli was born in Paris, France to Italian parents: his father, marquess Ernesto Grappelli was born in Alatri (Lazio). His mother died when he was four and his father left to fight in World War I. As a result he was sent to an orphanage. Grappelli started his musical career busking on the streets of Paris and Montmartre with a violin.[1] He began playing the violin at age 12, and attended the Conservatoire de Paris studying music theory, between 1924 and 1928. He continued to busk on the side until he gained fame in Paris as a violin virtuoso. He also worked as a silent film pianist while at the conservatory[2] and played the saxophone and accordion. He called his piano "My Other Love" and released an album of solo piano of the same name. His early fame came playing with the Quintette du Hot Club de France with Django Reinhardt, which disbanded in 1939 due to World War II. In 1940, a little known jazz pianist by the name of George Shearing made his debut as a sideman in Grappelli's band.

Post-war

After the war he appeared on hundreds of recordings including sessions with Duke Ellington, jazz pianists Oscar Peterson, Michel Petrucciani and Claude Bolling, jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, jazz violinist Stuff Smith, Indian classical violinist L. Subramaniam, vibraphonist Gary Burton, pop singer Paul Simon, mandolin player David Grisman, classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin, orchestral conductor André Previn, guitar player Bucky Pizzarelli, guitar player Joe Pass, cello player Yo Yo Ma, harmonica and jazz guitar player Toots Thielmans, jazz guitarist Henri Crolla and fiddler Mark O'Connor. He also collaborated extensively with the British guitarist and graphic designer Diz Disley, recording 13 record albums with him and his trio, and with now renowned British guitarist Martin Taylor. In the 1980s he gave several concerts with the young British cellist Julian Lloyd Webber.

Grappelli made a cameo appearance in the 1978 film King of the Gypsies, along with noted mandolinist David Grisman. Three years later they performed together in concert, which was recorded live and released to critical acclaim.

Grappelli's music is played very quietly, almost inaudibly, on Pink Floyd's album Wish You Were Here. The violinist was not credited, according to Roger Waters, in order to avoid "a bit of an insult".

In 1997, Grappelli received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He is an inductee of the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame.

Grappelli is interred in Paris' famous Père Lachaise Cemetery.

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French Jazz Violinist Stephane Grappelli Dead At 89

By Lee Yanowitch 

PARIS (Reuters) - French jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli, whose lively, elegant style captivated audiences for more than a half a century, died in Paris Monday after undergoing a hernia operation. He was 89. 

A self-taught violinist, Grappelli came into his own with a style mixing tender lyricism and vivacious swing that made him one of the living legends of jazz in France as well as in the United States. 

Regarded as the grandfather of jazz violinists, he continued staging concerts around the world well into his 80s, cutting a striking figure on stage with his thinning white hair, gaudy print shirts and violin tucked under his chin producing haunting music. 

When asked on his 85th birthday if he was considering retirement, Grappelli replied: "Retirement! There isn't a word that is more painful to my ears. Music keeps me going. It has given me everything. It's my fountain of youth." 

His agent, Jacques Chartier, told Reuters Grappelli died in a Paris clinic where he had undergone a hernia operation last week. 

"His family called me this afternoon to tell me he was dead," Chartier said. 

The Paris-born son of a philosophy teacher of Italian origin, Grappelli first worked as a pianist, accompanying silent films in a cinema to help his father pay the bills. 

Classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin, a great admirer of Grappelli's improvization skills, once commented: "Stephane is like one of those jugglers who send 10 plates into the air and recovers them all." 

The Hot Club of France quintet, a band he formed with gypsy guitarist Django Rheinhart in the 1930s, will be remembered as his major musical contribution. 

The two met at the Croix du Sud Montparnasse nightclub in early 1934. Then, in Grappelli's own words: "One day he was strumming on his guitar, and I started to improvise with him." 

With Reinhardt's brother, Joseph, and Roger Chaput on guitars and Louis Vola on double bass, the idea of the quintet was born. 

"There were no microphones then, so it was hard for a violin to be heard.
It was a revolution to play jazz only with string instruments," Grappelli said. 

With their lively style and technical excellence, the group very quickly seduced the world. But World War II found Grappelli in London and Reinhardt in Paris, and though the quintet reformed in 1946, it never reached its pre-war heights. 

Grappelli took to performing separately and made hundreds of records. In his later years, he was best-known for his recordings with Oscar Peterson, Jean-Luc Ponty and Menuhin, with whom he produced six records and performed his 70th and 80th birthday concerts. 

Born Jan. 26, 1908, Stephane Grappelli grew up in Paris's lively 10th arrondissement. His mother died when he was 4, and he was sent to an orphanage when his father was mobilized during World War I. 

When the war was over, he was reunited with his father, but the two were desperately poor. 

It was during this period that Grappelli developed a passion for Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, two composers who had an enormous influence on the personal style he later forged. 

When he was 13, Grappelli's father gave him a second-hand violin and taught him the scales. Enchanted, the boy learned with fervor. 

His first concerts were in the courtyards of buildings and in restaurants, but by the time he was 15 he was working as a piano accompaniest for silent films. 

"In the cinema, I had to play Mozart principally but was allowed some Gershwin in funny films. Then I discovered jazz and my vocation and kissed Amadeus goodbye," he said. 

He later got a job as a pianist with Gregor's Gregorians, the most popular French show band of the time. When Gregor heard him play the violin one night, he persuaded Grappelli to devote himself fully to it. 

Soon afterwards he met Reinhardt and they formed their famous quintet. But when the war broke out, Grappelli was in a London hospital and unable to return to France. 

He established a band to play in hospitals and military bases. "But all the Englishmen had been called up, and so I had to recruit the handicapped.
Blind George Shearing was on the piano and the bass player had one leg, "Grappelli said. 

He tried to re-form the Hot Club after the war, but a new style had come in. "Later there were groups like the Beatles who completely changed the direction of music," he said. 

But Grappelli continued to attract audiences. When he played, it was as if he was in a world of his own, eyes half-closed and a smile that gave him a look of utter bliss. 

"I play best when I am happy or sad, or when I was young and in love. If I have ordinary troubles, I forget everything when I play. I split into two people and the other plays," he said. 

Even late in life, he improved his technique. "One hears something when listening to recorded music that one doesn't hear while playing it. And you find yourself saying, 'gee, one shouldn't do that, one should do it differently."' 
Grappelli had one daughter, Evelyn, and a grandson.

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Artist Biography by: Yasir Agha 

Stephane Grappelli (originally surname was spelled with a 'Y') would have earned himself a place in Jazz History books if only for his important role in the Quintette of the Hot Club of France, featuring the dazzling virtuosity of Django Reindhart. Grappelli's violin was the perfect foil to Reindhart's guitar in this piano-less group. 

Fired by Reindhart's tremendous rhythmic powers, Grappelli's contributions to recordings by the Quintette like Lime House Blues, China Boy and It Don't Mean A Thing (all 1935) and Them There Eyes, Three little Words and Swing '39 (these latter three tracks from 1938-39) were admirable in their execution. 

Occasionally Grappelli would play piano, as when harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler recorded with the group in 1939, the year when Reindhart and Grappelli, violin, recorded (with delightful results) as a duo (all Django Reindhart). 

Grappelli born (1908) and raised in Paris was involved with music at a very early age. By 12 years, he had acquired his first violin- just one of several instruments he learned to play. He began professionally with theatre bands, eventually being introduced to jazz music. A French jazz musician, Philippe Brun, introduced Grappelli to Reindhart. Soon after that meeting they put the idea of Quintette into practice. 

When World War II commenced, Grappelli and the band were touring Britain. While the others returned to Paris Grappelli decided to stay. During the next six years he became a popular figure in London with habitues of nightlife in general and in musical entertainment in particular, working with local musicians in the local clubs. In 1946, he returned to Paris, renewed association with Reindhart, but he magic of pre-war days did not re-appear too often. Between 1948-55 worked in Club Saint Germain, Paris, and in the latter year played nine-month residency in St. Tropez. 

During the '70s Grappelli has played throughout Europe, in Clubs, concerts and festivals, has and broadcast televised extensively, and has been a regular visitor to the recording studio. 

In 1966, Grappelli was recorded in concert in Switzerland, together with fellow jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, Stuff Smith and Svend Asmussen (Violin Summit). Since then he has recorded frequently in London. A live date at the Queen Elizabeth Hall (Stephane Grappelli 1972) finds him responding to an enthusiastic audience. Elsewhere he has recorded with much success, with Americans Gary Burton (Paris Encounter), Bill Coleman (Stephane Grappelli-Bill Coleman), Roland Hanna, (Stephane Grappelli Meets he Rhythm Section) and Barney Kessel (I Remember Django).

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Discography

Albums

Improvisations (Paris, 1956)
Djangoly: Django Reinhardt the gypsy genius (1936 to 1940)
Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhart the Gold Edition (1934 to 1937, copyright 1998)
Stephane Grappelli 1992 Live (1992, Verve)
Stephane Grappelli in Tokyo (1991, A & M records)
Just One Of Those Things (1984, EMI Studios)
Stephane Grappelli Live at the Blue Note (1996, Telarc Jazz)
Bill Coleman with Django and Stephane Grappelli 1936 to 1938 (released 1985, DRG Records)
Fascinating Rhythm (1986, Jazz Life)
Parisian Thoroughfare (1997, Laserlight)
Martin Taylor Reunion (1993, Linn Records)
The Intimate Grappelli (1988, Jazz Life)
Jazz Masters (20+-year compilation, 1994, Verve)
Michelle Legrand (1992, Verve)
Oscar Peterson Skol (1979, released 1990 Pablo)
Homage To Django (1972, released 1976 Classic Jazz)
Bach to the Beatles (1991, Academy Sound)
Stephane Grappelli Plays Jerome Kern(1987, GRP)
How Can You Miss, with Louis Bellson and Phil Woods (1989, Rushmore)
Crazy Rhythm (1996/2000, Pulse)
Young Django (1979, MPS)
Live in San Francisco (1986, Blackhawk)
85 and Still Swinging (1993, Angel)
Vintage 1981 (1981, Concord)
Jean-Luc Ponty Violin Summit (1989, Jazz Life)
Martin Taylor: We've Got The World on a String (1984, EMI)
Stuff Smith: Violins No End (1984, Pablo)
Sonny Lester Collection (1980, LRC)
Stephane Grappelli and Joe Venuti: Venupelli Blues (1979, Affinity)
Shades of Django (1975, MPS)
Afternoon in Paris (1971, MPS)
Live at Carnegie Hall (1978, Signature)
Jazz 'Round Midnight (1989, Verve)
Unique Piano Session Paris 1955 (1955, Jazz Anthology)
Stephane Grappelli and Cordes (1977, Musidisc)
Satin Doll (1975, Vanguard)
Manoir de Mes Reves (1972, Musidisc)
Grappelli Plays George Gershwin (1984, Musidisc)
Stephane Grappelli (PYE)
Stephane Grappelli - i got rhythm! (1974 Black Lion Records) with Diz Disley, Denny Wright and Len Skeat recorded at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, 5th November, 1973
Diz Disley Live at Carnegie Hall (1983, Dr Jazz)
The Rock Peter and the Wolf (1976 RSO Records) (2007 CD Verdant Records) with Jack Lancaster, Phil Collins, Brian Eno, Gary Brooker, Gary Moore, Alvin Lee. Manfred Mann etc.

Collaborations

Stephane Grappelli and Claude Bolling: First Class (1992, Milan)
Stephane Grappelli and Gary Burton: Paris Encounter (1972, Atlantic)
Stephane Grappelli and Hubert Clavecin: Dansez Sur Vos Souvenirs (Musidisc)
Stephane Grappelli and David Grisman Live (1981, Warner Brothers)
Stephane Grappelli and Barney Kessel: Remember Django (1969, Black Lion)
Stephane Grappelli and Barney Kessel: Limehouse Blues (1972, Black Lion)
Stephane Grappelli and Yo Yo Ma: Anything Goes (1989)
Menuhin and Grappelli Play Berlin, Kern, Porter and Rodgers & Hart (1973 to 1985, EMI)
Stephane Grappelli and Yehudi Menuhin: Jalousie (1975, EMI)
Stephane Grappelli and Helen Merrill (1986, Music Makers)
Stephane Grappelli and Oscar Peterson (1973, Musicdisc)
Stephane Grappelli and Jean-Luc Ponty: Compact Jazz (1988, MPS)
Stephane Grappelli and The George Shearing Trio: The Reunion (1977, MPS)
Stephane Grappelli and Martial Solal (1980, MPO)
Stephane Grappelli and Martial Solal: Olympia 1988 (1988, Atlantic)
Stephane Grappelli with Marc Fosset Stephanova (Concord Jazz, 1983)
Stephane Grappelli and Dr. L. Subramaniam: Conversations (1992, Milestone)
Stephane Grappelli and Toots Thielemans: Bringing it Together (1984, Cymekob)
Stephane Grappelli and McCoy Tyner; One on One (1990, Milestone)
Stephane Grappelli and Joe Venuti: Best of Jazz Violins (1989, LRC)
Violin Summit: Stephane Grappelli, Stuff Smith, Svend Asmussen, Jean-Luc Ponty (1967, Polygram)
Stéphane Grappelli and Baden Powell: La Grande Reunion (1974, Accord)
Stephane Grapellli and Paul Simon "Paul Simon" (9) 1972 Hobo's Blues (Columbia 1972)
Stephane Grappelli and Earl Hines: Stephane Grappelli meets Earl Hines
Stephane Grappelli and Michel Petrucciani: "Flamingo" (Dreyfus 1996)

Please note that the ARChive hold a copy of DJANGOLOGY, a 10" 78rpm on Decca, by "Spephan Grappelly and His Hot Four"on the label.

References

Stephane Grappelli: A Life in the Jazz Century (an autobiographical documentary
Stéphane Grappelli's obituary.
The Piper (2002). A Rambling Conversation with Roger Waters concerning all this and that