Grappelli and Grisman’s Gypsy Jazz, or Hot Violin Action Part Deux
Speaking of violins, you can’t mention the instrument and the 20th Century in the same sentence without talking about Stéphane Grappelli. Mr. Grappelli, together with jazz guitar legend Django Reinhardt, founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France, the single hottest and most influential European jazz band of the first half of the 1900’s. They played their style of gypsy string jazz between 1933 and 1939, when World War II forced the group to hang it up.
Grappelli stayed very active in music for the rest of his long life (he died in 1997 at the age of 89). He played with many musicians spanning across many genres of music; artists like Jean-Luc Ponty, Oscar Peterson, Yo-Yo Ma, and mandolin player David Grisman.
This brings us to 1978. Grappelli was in San Francisco playing the Great American Music Hall. He and his group showcased Grappelli’s unique style, ripping through many old standards and classics. And joining him for the last few tunes were bluegrass-ers David Grisman and guitarist Tony Rice. Nice show, great sound, and a nice introduction to Stéphane Grappelli.
Stéphane Grappelli –
Golden Green(mp3)Stéphane Grappelli w/ David Grisman & Tony Rice –
Tipsy Gypsy(mp3)Stéphane Grappelli Group
Great American Music Hall
San Francisco, CA
April 25th, 19781. It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing
2. Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans
3. Tiger Rag
4. The Man I Love
5. I Can’t Give You Anything But Love
6. Golden Green
7. After You’re Gone
8. Chattanooga Choo-choo
9. St. Louis Blues
10. Unknown
11. Someone To Watch Over Me / I’ve Got Rhythm
12. Pent-Up House
13. Night And Day
14. Pennies From Heaven
15. Grappelli Piano Solo
16. Grappelli Intros Grisman & Rice
17. Tipsy Gypsy (Fisztorza) *
18. Gypsy Swing *
19. Gypsy Baptism tune (Fulginiti) *
20. Limehouse Blues *
21. Sweet Georgia Brown ** with Tony Rice (guitar) and David Grisman (mandolin)
Check out Stéphane Grappelli’s music on
or the Amazon links below…Hot Violin Action: Chris Murphy
For those of you itching to start your work week with a double shot of hot violin action, you came to the right place. First of all, a bit of trivia: in what year was the earliest documented violin (in its current four string form) constructed? Answer: in 1555, by Italian Andrea Amati. Previous to then, more primitive violins had only three strings. The Amatis were a dynasty of violin makers, lasting generations until the death of Girolamo Amati in 1740. Girolami was outmatched in his day by a rival violin maker, Antonio Stradivari.
The first post in this hot violin action focuses in on L.A. violinist, composer, and band leader Chris Murphy. Chris has been active in music for the last 15 years. He fuses jazz, blues, ethnic, and classical music, and the results are nice. He currently heads up a trio playing around southern California. Check out his site for tour dates. “Blues for Bukowski” features the inimitable Mike Watt on bass.
Check out Chris on Amazon.
