How close have you got to Django?

bopster

I've met one person who played with Django (Dizzy Gillespie), and attended performances of several who played with him (Jim Hall, Benny Carter). So I guess when I shook Dizzy's hand, that's the closest I got to Django (and Charlie Parker).

Scrooge

In 1975 I met Stephane and Diz Disley when they were touring in England, Dizz was fantastic, very open and encouraging about jazz music and how to get into it. Stephane? ....... well he was french after all!

frater

Franco Cerri who played with Django in Milan, 1949.

Spalo

I stood on the back of Barney Kessell's shoe as we both left the washroom at Ronnie Scotts Club in London in the 1980's, and I know Barney met Django.

Does this get me a prize?

Sp

rimm

No, but it is my favourite so far.

mobreau

If you go the www.hotclub.co.uk and look in the section called articles you will find a really nice story written buy a chap who met django back in the day...

Jim Kaznosky

I unknowingly jammed with Charles Wizen this summer. One of the attendees brought him and we had no idea who this awesome French violin player was. We all just kind of went with it and had a blast. At the end of the jam, my band mate started speaking in French with him and all was revealed. Good times.

Jazzaferri

Spalo wrote:

I stood on the back of Barney Kessell's shoe as we both left the washroom at Ronnie Scotts Club in London in the 1980's, and I know Barney met Django.

Does this get me a prize?

Sp

Well, :shock: Why would you stand on the back of someones shoe particularly in the loo where the view is not all that great.

Spalo

Well....

It was during the interval (BK was doing a guitar duo with Sacha Distel). I went to answer a call of nature. And as I came out of my cubicle BK came out of his. So I couldn't miss the opportunity and engaged him in what must have ben the most stupid coversation about guitars he'd ever heard. But he was very polite and I shook his hand (having made sure to wash mine first) and opened the door back to the club for him(in those days re-entry from the wash room was via a very steep flight of stone steps). As he took the first step up I trod on his trailing shoe, he lost his balance, and nearly went, as we say in the UK, a*se over t*t and what's worse he put out his left hand out to steady himself on the hard stone steps. Thank goodness no damage was done - I shudder to think what might have happened...

The odd thing is back then I didn't care much for his playing but now, older and wiser (?), I love it.

I now claim my prize (again).

Sp (aka The Man Who Nearly Ended Barney Kessell's Career)

Michael Bauer

Alright, I hate to pull rank, Spalo, but I spent every set break (and before the show) with Barney one night in a little club in a German suburb of Basel, Switzerland. My old guitar teacher in the States was an old friend of Barney's, so that broke the ice, but most important, I was fluent in German, and in between our yapping about guitars, I translated for him as he chatted up the stunning blonde barmaid. He even bought me a drink, which was much appreciated being that I was a starving student!

And unlike Spalo, I didn't try to kill him!

And I must have done a good job, because she agreed to go out with him after the gig.