At the time of this 1962 session,
Stéphane Grappelli had not yet recaptured the fame that he achieved during his prewar partnership with
Django Reinhardt, though he was hardly idle at the time. This meeting with guitarist
Pierre Cavalli, bassist
Guy Pedersen, and drummer
Daniel Humair covers many tunes previously recorded by
the Quintet of the Hot Club of France, but also delves into more recent works like
John Lewis' elegant tribute to the late guitarist ("Django") and
Sonny Rollins' catchy bop vehicle "Pent-Up House," both of which became a part of
Grappelli's repertoire for the remainder of his career. The violinist is in good form, but not quite as inspired as he would be once his star rose a few years later.
Cavalli's brash style of playing is no match for later
Grappelli collaborators such as
Joe Pass,
Martin Taylor, or
Marc Fosset. In any case, this CD from the bargain-priced Jazz in Paris series is definitely worth the money. ~ Ken Dryden