Stéphane Grappelli

Stéphane Grappelli

Grappelli in 1976, by Allan Warren
Background information
Birth name Stéphane Grappelli
Born 26 January 1908(1908-01-26)
Origin Paris, France
Died 1 December 1997(1997-12-01) (aged 89)
Genres Swing
Jazz fusion
Continental jazz
Gypsy jazz
Occupations Musician
Instruments Violin
Associated acts Django Reinhardt, Quintette du Hot Club de France, Oscar Peterson, David Grisman

Stéphane Grappelli (26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997) was a French jazz violinist who founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands.

For the first three decades of his career, he was billed using a gallicised spelling of his last name, Grappelly, reverting to "Grappelli" in 1969. The "Grappelli" spelling is now used almost universally when referring to the violinist – even on reissues of his early work.

Contents

Biography

Early years

Grappelli was born in Paris, France, to Italian/French parents: his father, marquess Ernesto Grappelli, was born in Alatri, Lazio. His French mother died when he was four and his father left to fight in World War I. As a result, at six he was accepted into Isadora Duncan's dance school, where he learnt to love French Impressionist music. Grappelli started his musical career busking on the streets of Paris and Montmartre with a violin.[1] He began playing the violin at age 12, and attended the Conservatoire de Paris studying music theory, between 1924 and 1928. He made his living by busking on the side until he gained fame in Paris as a violin virtuoso. He also worked as a silent film pianist while at the conservatory[2] and played the saxophone and accordion. Grappelli called his piano "My Other Love" and (many years later) released an album of solo piano of the same name.

For the first three decades of his musical career, Grappelli was billed as Stéphane Grappelly. Grappelli's own explanation for the changed spelling was that he was tired of people mispronouncing his last name as "Grappell-eye". It has also been suggested that Grappelli had changed his name in order to avoid military service in Italy, although this claim has been greeted with skepticism by his biographers.

His early fame came playing with the Quintette du Hot Club de France with Django Reinhardt, which disbanded in 1939 due to World War II. In 1940, a little known jazz pianist by the name of George Shearing made his debut as a sideman in Grappelli's band.

Post-war

Grappelli in 1991

After the war he appeared on hundreds of recordings including sessions with Duke Ellington, jazz pianists Oscar Peterson, Michel Petrucciani and Claude Bolling, jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, jazz violinist Stuff Smith, Indian classical violinist L. Subramaniam, vibraphonist Gary Burton, pop singer Paul Simon, mandolin player David Grisman, classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin, orchestral conductor André Previn, guitar player Bucky Pizzarelli, guitar player Joe Pass, cello player Yo Yo Ma, harmonica and jazz guitar player Toots Thielemans, jazz guitarist Henri Crolla and fiddler Mark O'Connor. He also collaborated extensively with the British guitarist and graphic designer Diz Disley, recording 13 record albums with him and his trio (which included Denny Wright in its early years), and with now renowned British guitarist Martin Taylor.

During the 1960s he played for cocktail hour at the Paris Hilton.

Grappelli recorded a solo for the title track of Pink Floyd's album Wish You Were Here. This was made almost inaudible in the mix, and so the violinist was not credited, according to Roger Waters, as it would be "a bit of an insult".[3]

Grappelli made a cameo appearance in the 1978 film King of the Gypsies, along with noted mandolinist David Grisman. Three years later they performed together in concert, which was recorded live and released to critical acclaim.

In the 1980s he gave several concerts with the young British cellist Julian Lloyd Webber.

In 1997, Grappelli received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He is an inductee of the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame.

He died in Paris after undergoing a hernia operation.

Grappelli is interred in Paris' famous Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Discography

Albums

Note: This is not complete, as many of his recordings were not transferred from vinyl, and some of his other discs are compilations.

Collaborations

Please note that the Archive hold a copy of DJANGOLOGY, a 10" 78rpm on Decca, by "Stephan Grappelly and His Hot Four" on the label.

References

  1. ↑ Balmer, Paul (Director). (2002). Stéphane Grappelli: A Life in the Jazz Century. [DVD]. New York: Music on Earth Ltd.. 
  2. ↑ Stéphane Grappelli's obituary.
  3. ↑ The Piper (2002). A Rambling Conversation with Roger Waters concerning all this and that. Retrieved July 9, 2005.

Further reading

External links