I wasn’t a huge fan of Beth Orton’s previous album, Daybreaker, but I’m back in love with her thanks to the new one, Comfort of Strangers. Produced by Jim O’Rourke, who’s been working with Wilco recently, it’s pure Beth stripped of the lavish arrangements that characterised Daybreaker. Consequently her voice returns to the fore, complete with its endearing quirks and occasional flashes of Naarfolk accent. Folksy.
I also treated myself to a long-overdue Django Reinhardt album, 1949’s Djangology, recorded in Rome with Stephane Grappelli. I’ve been using a version of Django’s Minor Swing to time my editing of the Varsity Documentary opening sequence. I’m not going to be able to use it in the final film for copyright reasons, so I hope the musician who’s helping me out will be able to deliver something with a similar feel and exactly the same timing!
I’ve been into Django since I was a little ‘un, thanks to Mum and David-Dad taking me to the Upton Jazz Festival every year. The event is always overburdened with mediocre old white beardy trad players, but there is always one stage dedicated to Hot Club style gypsy jazz, and that’s where we’d hang out. Over the years I’ve seen many, many excellent Djangologists, including Manouche gypsy Fapy Lafertin, but all of them had the use of all the fingers on their left hands (the tendons of Django’s pinkie and ring fingers were damaged in a caravan fire when he was eighteen). A couple of days ago I came across a video file of Django complete with a close-up on his two-fingered fretboard style. It was a pretty wonderful thing to behold.
Click here to see the movie, and click here to see where I got it from. The WFMU page also has a link to France Gall performing dirty old Serge Gainsbourg’s Poupee De Cire, Poupee De Son. Cracking.
20/02/2006
Great video! Another good guitarist is Angelo Debarre, a French Manouche from the Paris area. He played in Presteigne last week but I missed him. Gutted!
20/02/2006
France Gall! I didn’t know retro-Eurovision was a-ok with you trendies.
I remember her on b&w tv in Germany. Tasty yes, but the song is rubbish.
The Germans loved French singers in the 60s – probably a guilty conscience.
We had wall to wall France Gall and Mireille Mathieu on every station then.
Loved the Django clip and glad you remember those jazzy days and nights at Upton. To be fair, don’t forget, they used to have some decent mainstream bands, like Breda Big Band and Tad Newton, among those aged Dixielanders. Ooh, I could go on!
22/02/2006
I thought “Daybreaker” had its moments (not comparible to its forerunners due to it’s rock leanings – probably due to Beth’s fling with one Ryan Adams). I’m eager to hear the new one. I’ve owned my Django compillation for a few years and it gets played a lot. He’s great. I think that the gypsy jazz was what I remember most clearly and fondly from my one visit to the Upton Jazz Festival. Presteigne on the other hand has an annual music festival called “Sheep Music” but I’ve no idea if it’s got anything to do witth jazz…
22/02/2006
Right, I know all about Django for some reason, even though it’s not the srot of thing I’d normally know about. I mean, jazz guitarists? Either I was too lazy to change the channel one day, or someone told me about him.
We’re getting the Orton as a free gift for supporting the Current. Hasn’t arrived yet.