Jean ‘Django’ Reinhardt (1910-1953)

Django Reinhardt was born into a gypsy family, living in various encampments on the outskirts of Paris in early 1910. He was almost completely illiterate due to the fact that his education ceased at a young age, and he was unable to write or read music. Despite these hinderances, he became a proficient musician, playing by ear and was able to make money as a professional musician by the age of 13.

By the age of 18, Django was already married, and living with his wife in his own caravan. His small wages, earned as a musician, were supplemented by sales of artificial flowers which his wife made. As a result, his caravan was full of extremely flammable cellulose, used to make the flowers. One fateful night, on his way to bed, Django knocked over a candle, and the entire caravan was swiftly ablaze.

His friends and family were quick enough to pull him and his wife from danger, but not before he had suffered terrible first and second degree burns. His left leg was paralysed, but more importantly for the young guitarist, his left hand was badly damaged.

Django was told by doctors that he would never be able to play guitar again, and that his left leg would need to be amputated. Not one to shy away from a challenge, Django refused to undergo the operation: within a year he was walking without the aid of a cane.

The third and fourth fingers of his left hand were extensively damaged, which made playing the guitar an extremely difficult task. Undeterred, Reinhardt invented an entirely new method for playing the guitar to get around the problem of his partially paralysed left hand. All of his solos were played using just two fingers; he also used his two damaged fingers to assist in playing chords. This style created a unique sound, which able-handed guitarists have struggled to reproduce - in the 60 years since his death, many world-famous guitarists have expressed admiration for his abilities.

The tale of Reinhardt’s battle against injury inspired not one, but two world-famous guitarists: Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead) and Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath), who both lost fingers in accidents.

As a side-note, it’s also worth pointing out that Reinhardt’s musical skills, even after his injury, were actually great enough to save his life. During the Nazi occupation of Paris, where Django lived (despite several failed attempts to escape to England), Gypsies were heavily persecuted and frequently sent to concentration camps. Jazz and Swing music, which were Reinhardt’s specialities, were also considered to be “degenerate” by the invading forces. This did not place our classy gent in a favourable position, but the fact that some highly influential German officers such as Luftwaffe officer Dietrich Schulz-Köhn - nicknamed “Doktor Jazz” - were (secretly) impressed by the musical skills he displayed in the Hot Club de Paris, may have saved his life, as it is thought that he unwittingly enjoyed their  surreptitious protection.

So there we have it, a classy gent, playing classy music despite crippling injury and fascist oppression. I think it’s best to let the man himself have the last word, with his beautiful interpretation of the old classic Limehouse Blues. Just listen to how quickly and cleanly he plays…