Comments

• voutoreenie "the good land"New

  May 14 edited May 14 Posts: 424

  For Django's later electric period, The Last Studio Sessions is a good one to grab (1951-1953 recordings)...pretty sure there's others as well, some which might be even better compilations (or at least potentially based upon feedback from other forum members who are far more knowledgable than myself)

  
• billyshakes NoVA✭✭✭

  May 14 Posts: 1,821

  I feel your pain. Over the years, I've purchased many different collections, discs, etc. with multiple overlaps. I have that Classic Early Recordings box from JSP that you have. The sound on that was really nice when I got it ~25 years ago (there wasn't much out then). I think they did a follow-on comp but the sound quality wasn't as well received. You can probably find old posts here on the forum about that. This and the Bluebird Djangology were about the only things around on CD.

  I think for completeness, there first came the Fremeaux Integrale Django Reinhardt recordings. They numbered 20 volumes of 2 discs each. Here's a link to their site, but you can find many of these discs on Discogs from US sellers for reasonable prices. If you select any of the individual volumes on the link below, then scrol down a bit to the black bar across the screen, you can see their Tracklist. More interestingly, you can look at the "Booklet" tab, where they give the liner notes in French, then English, then they list each song with recording dates/players/etc. Some of the early volumes have a lot of work Django did outside of the QHCF such as with Michel Warlop Orchestra, Guerino, etc. This Booklet feature is great now in the age of digital downloads, as it gives you access to all this great info.

  https://www.fremeaux.com/en/84-integral-django-reinhardt

  
  

  Since then, Label Ouest has recently (last ~5 years) put out their own compilations of Django recordings that are themed chronologically. If you feel you are good prior to 1948, Then you might start with their Django in Rome (1949). There is also their Dernier Django collection which gives you 1951-53. These were a project put together by Sammy Daussat and the sound quality is supposed to be pretty excellent. You can find info about it at Discogs. Here's the Label Ouest catalog with a search for Django.

  https://www.discogs.com/label/612452-Label-Ouest?srsltid=AfmBOorTwbIDsryKaakM9mYwVWNrd9jU48RNBjkNfYxviiDZboLxZ3D4&searchParam=django&page=1

  Here's a direct link to the last Django release

  https://www.discogs.com/release/12695614-Django-Reinhardt-Le-Dernier-Django-The-Ultimate-Django-1951-1953

  Maybe someone else will chime in on the varying reviews of audio quality. I'm mostly listening to them on computer or through earbuds so can't really discriminate which has better hi-fi sound.

  
• adrian AmsterdamVirtuoso

  May 14 Posts: 588

  I'd highly recommend the recent remasters by Label Ouest. Django's recordings never sounded so good, in my opinion.

  Personally I have the whole Integrale set (a set of 20 double CDs that has his entire recorded output, including a lot of boring stuff in the early years), and I end up listening to the Label Ouest remasters more, even though they may be missing some more obscure stuff.

  Based on what you already own, I'd say the top priority would be the set of final recordings. Label Ouest released this as a three-CD set called "Le dernier Django" (The Ultimate Django).

  Adrian

  

  Give my albums a listen: Melodic Guitar Music and Layer Cake
• flaco ✭ 2023 Holo Traditional, Shelley Park #151, AJL Quiet and Portable

  May 14 Posts: 301

  https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/125331#Comment_125331

  This is the way. It’s only like 30€ if you order the USB, and the USB is a little guitar!

  https://www.bayardmusique.com/album/1990/the-genius-of-django

  

  

  
  

  
• KeithBillik New

  May 14 Posts: 5

  https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/125332#Comment_125332

  Oh wow, this looks like a winner. Thanks for the link! I'm gonna give this a try for sure- honestly, for that price, it's almost worth it just to get the remastered improvements of stuff I already own. Any idea if there are any notable gaps in what this collection covers, that I may want to supplement further? Or is this a fairly complete volume?

  Someone posting on Reddit said that they also pitch-corrected everything to 440Hz? Which seems odd, but as a musician, I'm excited that this will help greatly with play-along practice options (if it's true).
• paulmcevoy75 Portland, MaineNew

  May 14 Posts: 831

  Yeah the genius of Django thing sounds superior to everything else I've heard. Also organized in a cool way to keep it interesting. I'm not as well listened as a lot of people here though.