1935-1943

• Artist: Stéphane Grappelli
• Rating:
• Release Date: October 27, 1998
• Total Time: 66:00
• Type: Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Jazz

Review

Violinist Stéphane Grappelli (1908-1997) was honored in 1998 with this 22-track tribute slapped together by the Giants of Jazz label. Covering a time span from September 30, 1935, to January 21, 1943, this pleasant potpourri of classic continental swing sessions samples his early Hot Club of France recordings and follows the fiddler into temporary wartime exile as he collaborated with young George Shearing and a talented array of British jazz musicians. The collection opens with two delicious duets with Django Reinhardt, then shuffles together recordings made in Paris and London that were released under Grappelli's name. The Hot Four (heard performing W.C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues" in 1935) actually added up to a quintet as the violinist interacted with bassist Louis Vola and three guitarists: Django and Joseph Reinhardt and Pierre Ferret. The English sessions are fascinating in that Grappelli recorded with a quartet, quintet, sextet, and even a nonet that included harpist Harry Chapman. The vibraphonist heard on "Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away)" was a fellow by the name of Roy Marsh. Excellent stuff, all scrambled up so as not to resemble anything like a chronological retrospective. One might choose instead to invest in the first two volumes of Stéphane Grappelli's portion of the Classics Chronological Series. That will permit the listener to relish the recordings in sequential order, which is closer to the sort of careful treatment that this great music deserves. ~ arwulf arwulf, Rovi

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