Grisman, Vignola, Nolan, & Papillo: September Song

A few days ago, Ted Eschilman, who runs the web site JazzMando.com, posted this song on his Facebook wall. It is an excellent rendition of this Kurt Weil/Maxwell Anderson tune done in the tradition of the great Belgian gypsy guitarist, Django Reinhart. While the song was a hit for others, Django also recorded a version of this tune. Since this is Monday, it’s my cover feature for today.

This song, recorded in a living room features David Grisman on mandolin, Frank Vignola and Robin Nolan on guitars, and Michael Papillo on bass. The instruments used on this particular recording are interesting as well. Grisman uses a Giacomel J5 mandolin made in Italy. The archtop guitar played by Vignola is a Thorell Legato. Nolan plays a nylon stringed Dell’Arte DG-RN1, the Robin Nolin model, which is built in the tradition of Jacques Favino.

In the 1930s to the 1940s, Django Reinhart and violinist Stéphane Grappelli’s Quintette du Hot Club de France changed the face of jazz on the European continent. Despite having only two fully functional fingers on his left hand, Django is considered one the greatest guitarists of all time. While he could use the other two fingers for chords, his solos were all played with his index and middle fingers. Reinhart died May 16, 1953 of a brain hemorrhage ; he was 43.