Stephan Grappelli

Stephan Grappelli (January 26th, 1908 - February 1st, 1997) was a Violon ist and Jazz man French. It belonged to the largest violonists of jazz of the XXe century and created the “Quintet of Hot Club of France” with Django Reinhardt.

Biography

Stephan was born with Paris on January 26th, 1908, of father Italy N (Ernesto) and of French mother (Anna). It loses his mother at the 4 years age. It is towards the 12 years age that it starts to play of the violin in the streets and the courses of buildings, to bring back a little money to the house. It begins its professional path in 1923 as violonist and pianist in the cinemas, to accompany silent films.

It creates, in 1934, the Quintette of Hot Club of France with amongst other things Django Reinhardt. When the war bursts, it is in round in England. Django returns at once to France but Stephan, patient, remain blocked in London. When they are found, in 1946, they play and record spontaneously the Marseillaise renamed Echoes off France (to listen to an extract) due to recording in England. This recording will make scandal, and it matrix will be destroyed besides. After its partnership with Reinhardt - which what is called gave rise to now the " Manouche" swing; , it records more than one hundred of discs with the large musicians of planet, in particular with Oscar Peterson, Jean-Luc Ponty, Philip Catherine, Michel Petrucciani, the singer Paul Frederic Simon, David Grisman or Yehudi Menuhin; without forgetting its collaborations with great names of the music of the world, such as the Indian violonist Lakshminarayana Subramaniam.

He is also the type-setter and interprets original pieces constituting the band of the film " the Waltzers " of Bertrand Blier left in 1974, as well as music of Milou in May, film of Louis Malle of 1989.

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