Re: Happy Birthday Django!!!
Yeah, I was reminded of this fact by someone reaching into my life as if from the Dead. Somehow I got a facebook post from Jerry Garcia, someone who knew a thing or two (million) about the guitar, and music in general:
“I have all of Django’s records. Every single one of them,” Garcia proudly said. “Most of what he plays is even hard to understand no matter how hard I’ve listened to it. In terms of the actual technical how it’s happening, because I listen to it and I hear when a note is being struck and when a note is being articulated with the left hand, and he’s doing things where I don’t know how he’s doing them!”
“I can’t imagine. Either he has fingers half a mile long or… I just don’t know how he’s doing it,” Garcia continues. “And this is with a [messed]-up left hand. He’s able to cross his fingers over this way. He’s able to do runs where this finger crosses this finger over here. That much I’ve figured out because there are things he plays that work that way, and you couldn’t do it any other way. There’s no other way to do them.”
“They’re lightning fast too, and his technique is awesome,” Garcia enthused. “Even today, nobody has really come to the state that he was playing at. As good as players are, they haven’t gotten to where he is. There are a lot of guys that play fast and a lot of guys that play clean, and the guitar has come a long way as far as speed and clarity go, but nobody plays with the whole fullness of expression that Django has.”
“I mean, the combination of incredible speed – all the speed you could possibly want – but also the thing of every note having a specific personality. It’s just something… you don’t hear it. I haven’t really heard it anywhere but with Django.”
Personally, I wish he'd applied his skills to the mandolin. He might have made something of himself.
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!
Bookmarks