Stephane Grappelli | Artist

Stéphane Grappelli was a French jazz violinist born 1908 in Paris. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934, one of the first all-string jazz bands. Grappelli, who's career encompassed the swing and early jazz era's as well as bebop and modern jazz has been called "the grandfather of jazz violinists" and continued playing concerts around the world well into his eighties. Grappelli began playing the violin at the age of 12 on a three-quarter-sized violin, which his father purchased by pawning a suit. Although he received violin lessons, he preferred to learn the instrument on his own. At the age of 15, he began busking full-time to support himself. His playing caught the attention of an elderly violinist, who invited him to accompany silent films in the pit orchestra at the Théâtre Gaumont. He played there for six hours daily over a two-year period. During breaks, he visited Le Boudon, a brasserie where he would listen to songs from an American jukebox, and was introduced to jazz. Grappelli met gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1931. Looking for a violinist interested in jazz, he invited Grappelli to play with him in his caravan. Although at that time, their commitments prevented them from pursuing a career together. In 1934 they met again at Claridge's in London and began a musical partnership. Pierre Nourry, the secretary of the Hot Club de France, invited Reinhardt and Grappelli to form the Quintette du Hot Club de France with Louis Vola on bass and Joseph Reihardt and Roger Chaput on guitar. Throughout the 1950s, Grappelli made occasional recordings but the opportunities for a swing violinist of his generation were becoming limited; despite attempts to modernise his style, Grappelli was never interested in the bebop style which was then fashionable. For many years he held a residency at the "Le Toit de Paris" restaurant in the Paris Hilton Hotel, where he also resided. By this time had very little impact on the jazz world. A late career boost came in 1971, when British chat-show host and jazz fan Michael Parkinson included Grappelli on his show in a duet with classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin. The result went down very well with the British public and the pair went on to record three collaborative albums between 1972 and 1976. Grappelli continued with a string of successful collaborations with artists such as Oscar Peterson, Barney Kessel, Jean-Luc Ponty, Gary Burton and Baden Powell, as well as solo works, ensemble works and soundtracks. With over 80 studio recordings to his credit, some standouts include Improvisations (1958), Django (1962), Limehouse Blues (1972) with Barney Kessel, Jalousie (1973) with Yehudi Menuhin, Paris Encounter (1972) with Gary Burton, Violinspiration (1975), and Young Django (1979) with Philip Catherine and Larry Coryell. Grappelli recorded a solo for the title track of Pink Floyd's 1975 album Wish You Were Here. This was made almost inaudible in the mix, and so the violinist was not credited. A remastered version with Grappelli's contribution fully audible can be found on the 2011 editions of Wish You Were Here.

Artist Website: wikipedia/Stephane_Grappelli

Featured Albums: Stephane Grappelli

Related Artists: Django Reinhardt, Quintette du Hot Club de France, Yehudi Menuhin, Jean-Luc Ponty