Django Reinhardt : WelcomeDjango Reinhardt : Biography

Notes : This is from the man who knew Django quite well (except for Django's wife Naguine...). There is tons of anecdotes.

French release / version francaise

Original French release (60's)

Ce livre de Charles Delaunay, la bible en quelque sorte mérite d'être lu. Charles Delaunay est lui-même une personnalité très importante pour la promotion et la diffusion
du Jazz en France. Il a été le gérant (façon de parler) de Django pour un certain temps. Une brouille est venu mettre un terme à cette relation.

Le style du livre est plutôt anecdotique. On y retrouve la première discographie officielle de Django et de superbes photos.

English soft cover - deluxe version

Ashley Mark Publishing Company 1981, copyright 1961
Translated from French by Michael James

English "format de poche"

Version originale anglaise / first edition (in english)

Django by Patrick Williams(in French)
Éditions Parenthèses, 72, cours Julien, 13006, Marseille
Collection eupalinos (soft cover) , two different editions illustrated
ISBN 2-86364-612-5/ ISSN 1281-5853 (80 F), Version 2, 1998

The first edition on the left has more nice photos of Django taken in Samois and Le Bourget. Table of content

Notes : very different from all the other biography. It's got a taste of "PHD research" on Django, the Gipsy people and the heritage. You should look for this book while it is still available in book stores (the one on the right, 1998 edition...).

The section titled "Les Héritiers" is really great since it gives precious information on the musician that did follow Django's influence. A lot of CDs are still available today (though lot of great recordings are not re-edited).

La section "Les Héritiers" est formidable à mes yeux. Je ne peux me lasser de telles informations sur ces musiciens qui ont suivi la foulé de Django.

Django Reinhardt - Un géant sur son nuage by François Billard (in French)
avec la collaboration D'alain Antonietto1993, Lieu Commun, dima, Paris 6-93 955-876-0
ISBN 2.86705.172.x

Those two books above are respectively Edition 1 and 2 of the same book. The second edition has an updated discography and minor corrections. it is possible that they have "borrowed" some rare anecdotes from a soon to be released book on Django...mmm...i'll double check it myself as soon as i got this new book.

François Billard est né en septembre 1948 à Toulon. Il a écrit de nombreux ouvrages dont Duke Ellington (Editions du Seuil,1994), Histoires du saxophone (Editions Climat, 1995) et Ella Fitzgerald (Editions Vade Retro, 1997).
My personnal favorite : a bible on every music that you could relate to Django's career (Musette, Gipsy, swing...).
There is lot of research that must have gone into the opening chapters by Antonietto. A great book.

by Roger Spautz
ISBN 2-87951-008-2
"Mythos und Realität." Luxembourg 1983.
238 p., (40) p. of photos. Gut recherchierte Biographie, mit Discographie pb DM 29.80

table of content

This book is also a must, Delaunay's being the first for historical reasons. A lot of efforts went into the writing of this one - congratulation to the author.
I've never found this book in book stores. The University of Montréal, in its Music book library does own an original.

I would call this one Delaunay's volume 2. It starts where the other one left. Interviews, souvenirs from people who knew Django.
The discography at the end goes is a nice complement to Delaunay's original.
It includes a complete musician list who did record with Django.