"All over Europe
there are guitarists striving to master every tune in Django Reinhardt's
repertoire, every nuance of his style. Many do so for traditional as
well as musical reasons, for Django was a gypsy and his music is a strong
strand of gypsy culture. Watching gypsy musicians - and this documentary
is full of them - learning, repeating and rephrasing Django's musical
language, you come to see Django less as a jazz stylemaker and more
as a cultural archetype.
The focus of this
documentary is the annual festival held in Django's honour at Samois-sur-Seine...
from the devotees you hear most of the classics: 'Manoir de Mes Rêves',
'Douce Ambiance', 'Djangology', 'Minor Swing', and, of course, 'Nuages'...
But although tribal legatees have a lot of space here -- Django's son
Babik, Bireli Lagrene, Boulou and Elios Ferré, Fapy Lafertin, the Dutchman
Stochelo Rosenberg, the Tunisians Serge Krief and Richard Chiche --
some outsiders are cordially admitted to the circle, like the extraordinarily
gifted Gary Potter from Liverpool.
It's the details
that gives John Jeremy's film its special character. That, and a deep
affection for their subjects which he not only explains but passes on
to the viewer. I can't imagine any lover of Django's music being other
than delighted by this film."
Tony Russell
