Tag Archives: violin

Django Reinhardt / Stéphane Grappelli / Eddie South – Improvisation On 1st Movement From Concerto In D Minor by JS Bach (1933)

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Improvisation On 1st Movement From Concerto In D Minor by JS Bach is arranged by Django Reinhardt and recorded in Paris in 1933.

Gypsy jazz (also known as gypsy swing or hot club jazz) is a style of jazz music often said to have been started by guitarist Jean “Django” Reinhardt in the 1930s. Django was foremost among a group of Gypsy guitarists working in and around Paris in the 1930s through the 1950s, a group which also included the brothers Baro, Sarane, and Matelo Ferret and Reinhardt’s brother Joseph “Nin-Nin” Reinhardt.

Many of the musicians in this style worked in Paris in various popular  Musette ensembles. The Musette style waltz remains an important component in the Gypsy jazz repertoire. Reinhardt was noted for combining a dark, chromantic Gypsy flavor with the swing articulation of the period. This combination is critical to this style of jazz. In addition to this his approach continues to form the basis for contemporary Gypsy jazz guitar. Reinhardt’s most famous group, the Quintette du Hot Club de France, also brought fame to jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli. [source]

Django Reinhardt – Guitar
Eddie South – Violin
Stéphane Grappelli  - Violin

 

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Billie Holliday / Ray Ellis & His Orchestra – I’m a Fool To Want You (1958)

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First track on the album Lady In Satin by Billie Holliday and Ray Ellis & His Orchestra , recorded 19–21 February 1958, released on Columbia same year.

This is the most controversial of all Billie Holiday records. Lady Day herself said that this session (which finds her accompanied by Ray Ellis´ string orchestra) was her personal favorite, and many listeners have found her emotional versions of such songs as “I’m a Fool to Want You,” “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” “Glad to Be Unhappy,” and particularly “You’ve Changed” to be quite touching. [source]

Billie Holiday – Vocal / Ray Ellis – Arranger, Conductor / George Ockner – Violin , concertmaster / David Soyer – Cello / Janet Putnam – Harp / Danny Bank – Flute / Phil Bodner – Flute / Romeo Penque – Flute / Mel Davis – Trumpet / J.J. Johnson – Trombone / Urbie Green – Trombone / Tom Mitchell – Trombone / Mal Waldron – Piano / Barry Galbraith – Guitar / Milt Hinton – Bass / Osie Johnson – Drums / Elise Bretton – Backing Vocals / Miriam Workman – Backing vocals

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The Revolutionary Ensemble – The People’s Republic (1975)

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The People’s Republic is the fourth track on the album of same name by Revolutionary Ensemble, recorded in 1975.

This record has a fearsome reputation that is completely undeserved. On the contrary, while the sound of strings seems strange to a jazz-trained ear, the music these people make on this record is beautiful, fragile, and — considering that it’s all completely improvised — astonishingly tight as well. These men played together for a long time, not for tangible reward, but for themselves and whoever cared to listen. This is definitely a different record, and what happens here might not even be called jazz, but the salient quality of the music is beauty, not the ferociousness one might expect. This is highly recommended, if only for the inclusion of Sirone’s bass playing, a voice that should have been recorded more often. [source]

Jerome Cooper - Vocals, Balafon, Temple Block, Wood Block, Gong, Bells
Sirone - Vocals, Bells, Shaker, Wood Block, Bass
Leroy Jenkins - Vocals, Claves, Recorder, Violin, Kalimba (Thumb Piano)

 

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Mahavishnu Orchestra – Birds of Fire (1972) (full album)

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Birds of Fire is Mahavishnu Orchechestra´s second album. It was released in the first half of 1973 and is the last studio album by the original Mahavishnu Orchestra line-up, before the group dissolved, although Between Nothingness and Eternity, a live album, was recorded and released later that same year. [source]

All compositions by John McLaughlin, except “Miles Beyond”, by Miles Davis:

Birds of Fire (5:50) / Miles Beyond (4:47) / Celestial Terrestrial Commuters (2:54) / Saphire Bullets of Pure Love (0:24) / Thousand Island Park (3:23) / Hope (1:59) / One Word (9:57) / Sanctuary (5:05) /Open Country Joy (3:56) / Resolution  (2:09)

The Mahavishnu Orchestra:
John McLaughlin – Guitar
Rick Laird – Bass
Billy Cobham – Drums, Percussion
Jerry Goodman – Violin
Jan Hammer – Keyboards, Moog

 

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Armand J. Piron Band – Kiss Me Sweet (1923)

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Armand John “A.J.” Piron (August 16, 1888 – February 17, 1943) was an American jazz violinist, band leader, and composer. In 1915, Piron and Williams together started the Piron and Williams Publishing Company, and in their first year of business published Piron’s composition, “I Wish That I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate”, which became his biggest hit. After touring briefly with W.C. Handy  in 1917, he started an orchestra under his own name, which soon included such notables as Lorenzo Tio and Steve Lewis. Piron’s New Orleans Orchestra quickly became the best paid African American band in New Orleans, for Piron landed regular jobs at both the Spanish Fort amusement park and the exclusive white New Orleans Country Club. [source]