1910 was the birth year of
Django Reinhardt, the jaw-droppingly gifted guitarist and composer who is generally credited with inventing (or at least perfecting) a style of music now known as "Gypsy jazz." Characterized by frenetic tempos and driving rhythms,
Reinhardt's music has thrilled listeners and inspired guitarists for nearly a century. The punningly named quartet
Les Doigts de l'Homme are configured in the traditional Gypsy jazz manner (three guitars, one bass, no drums), and on
1910 pay explicit tribute to
Reinhardt -- but they are not slavish imitators, and they bring their own exuberant personalities (along with some of their own compositions) to this mixed program of standards,
Reinhardt tunes, and new material. Traditionalists will find plenty to love here: the group's takes on such potboilers as "Swing 48," "I've Found a New Baby," and the inevitable "Minor Swing" are respectful even as they gently expand the form's normal harmonic vocabulary (check out those little tritone runs in the middle of "St. James Infirmary Blues") and throw in bursts of joyfully virtuosic harmony lines. But as thrilling as
Les Doigts de l'Homme are when playing at top speed, they really shine at slower tempos: they play "St. James Infirmary" like a New Orleans funeral band; "Indifférence" is a gentle and lovely waltz; their version of
Reinhardt's "Improvisation No. 2" is heartbreakingly tender and sweet.
Reinhardt has many acolytes, a good number of whom have learned all his licks and surpassed his tempos, but very few of them honor his memory the way
Les Doigts de l'Homme do -- by teasing out what matters most from his musical legacy and building upon it. This is not only an exciting and impressive album, but an unusually beautiful one as well. ~ Rick Anderson