Nuages

Nuages ​​is a 1940 resulting instrumental composition by Django Reinhardt, the then developed in France to hit the Jazz Standard.

Features of the piece

It is the song of the free-roaming clouds (French Nuages ​​), which are an image for the actual home of the Roma. The composition is based on a chromatically ascending and descending motif that is changed by 32 strokes back, and is held in the form of a song ABA'B '. The composition is listed in G Major and " soaked with melancholy gypsy "

First recordings

A first recording of the piece on October 1, 1940 by Reinhardt initially rejected ( it was first published in 1983 ). The Reinhardt biographer Schmitz and Maier wrote:

The arrangement of these " precursor " version is in the introduction "held modern dissonant and already shows changes in Django's musical taste - the slowly removing the wooden carved models of the more senior Hot Jazz. " In the view of Reinhardt biographer later version is indeed "clean, refined, smoother. In contrast, it seems, in turn, as if the original more spontaneity and movement. "

After Reinhardt, he launched the arrangement, he went on December 13, 1940 again entered the studio to the piece this time with two clarinetists - Hubert Rostaing next to this was Alix Combelle - again einzuspielen, which then appeared on the label Swing and nowadays better known version is. After a dissonant staccato liable introduction, the topic will be presented by the clarinets and the lead guitar and accompanied by the band until the second chorus clock. His solo - chorus " it begins with effective harmonics and increases it to rapid semiquavers, rather he finds the climax back in a closely- final phase. " Only then the clarinets sit back; after a reprise of the piece comes to its end.

Effective history

Django Reinhardt introduced the new piece first in German-occupied Paris at the Salle Pleyel. The French public was thrilled; he had to repeat that night the song twice. The song with the pfeifbaren basic motif evolved into the hit. More than 100 000 copies of gramophone records were sold. The piece functioned both as a " prayer in the lost war " as well as " spare national anthem ". For Reinhardt, the success of the breakthrough was as a star; he went into France on the same level as Maurice Chevalier and Josephine Baker.

The piece has developed consistently to Reinhardt's signature tune. He played numerous other versions one, so 1942 in Brussels with Stan Brenders et Son Grand Orchestra and in London in 1946 with Stéphane Grappelli. " Its certainly the most spectacular version of which dates from 1950, a six- minute virtuoso tour de force, which grossed Reinhardt on the solo guitar. "

Nuages ​​was recorded at Jazz by numerous guitarists - in North America by Joe Pass ( first in 1964) will Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis and Charlie Byrd to Tal Farlow, Laurindo Almeida and Allan Holdsworth. In Europe, the song to a reference piece of gypsy jazz, but not only of elec Bacsik, Christian Escoudé, Boulou Ferré, Bireli Lagrene and Stochelo Rosenberg, but also by Philip Catherine has been interpreted ( with Larry Coryell 1976) and Pierre Dørge. In the tradition of Stéphane Grappelli Didier Lockwood, Svend Asmussen and Martin Weiss took up the song. However, Oscar Peterson, Peter Appleyard, Phil Woods, Paul Desmond and John Purcell improvised on Nuages ​​.

Nuages ​​is the favorite piece of Quincy Jones.

Versions with Text

Various melancholy lyrics were written for the song. The French version ( " Lentement dans le soir le train s'en va" ) was interpreted by Yves Montand and Sacha Distel. English versions submitted by Spencer Williams and Jon Hendricks (whose version was added in 1997 by Manhattan Transfer with the instrumentalist Stéphane Grappelli and Stochelo Rosenberg ).

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