Django (composition)
"Django" is a 1954 jazz standard written by John Lewis. It was a signature composition of the Modern Jazz Quartet, of which Lewis was the pianist and musical director.
Background and structure
Lewis wrote "Django" in 1954 as a tribute to his friend, the Belgian-born jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, who had died the previous year. It begins with a 20-bar theme that was described by Ted Gioia in his book The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire as dirge-like and mournful.[1] The entry for "django" in the original edition of the Real Book only contained the chord changes for this theme. It is followed by solo sections in modified Thirty-two-bar AABA form, where the first two A sections contain six bars instead of eight, the eight-bar B section contains a pedal point on the tonic, and the final twelve-bar A section contains a boogie bass motif. The solo sections are separated by interludes in double-time derived from the introductory theme. The composition ends with a full repeat of the intooductory section.[1]
It was first recorded in 1954 by the Modern Jazz Quartet, of which Lewis was the pianist and musical director, appearing on the group's 1956 album Django.[1] It was one of the Modern Jazz Quartet's signature compositions, with the group's bassist Percy Heath recalling that "If we didn't play 'Django' in a concert, we risked getting stoned. I mean in the thrown-at sense."[2][3] It was listed on the NPR 100, the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century compiled by NPR editors]],[4] and was ranked #357 on the Songs of the Century, a list of the top 365 songs of the 20th century compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.[5]
Notable versions
Apart from the 1954 recording, the Modern Jazz Quartet recorded "Django" on three other studio albums, 1960's Pyramid, 1965's Jazz Dialogue (with a big band), and 1987's Three Windows (with the New York Chamber Symphony). They also released it on the live albums European Concert, The Complete Last Concert, Reunion at Budokan 1981, Together Again: Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival '82, MJQ & Friends: A 40th Anniversary Celebration, and Dedicated to Connie. Lewis recorded the piece on solo piano on his albums Evolution (1999) and Evolution II (2000), and performed it with the Jazztet on The Jazztet and John Lewis (1961), the violinist Svend Asmussen on European Encounter (1962), and with the vocalist Helen Merrill on Django (1976). Lewis and Gunther Schuller arranged the album The Modern Jazz Society Presents a Concert of Contemporary Music (1955), on which "Django" appears, and Schuller's 1961 album Jazz Abstractions contains three variations on "Django".[2] Other notable versions include those by:[1][2]
- The Vince Guaraldi Trio on Vince Guaraldi Trio (1956)
- The Ray Bryant Trio on Ray Bryant Trio (1957)
- Gil Evans on Great Jazz Standards (1959)
- Dorothy Ashby on Dorothy Ashby (1962) and Django/Misty (1984)
- Joe Pass on For Django (1964)
- Grant Green on Idle Moments (1965)
- The Oscar Peterson Trio on Eloquence (1965)
- Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks on Buckingham Nicks (1973)
- Bill Evans and Eddie Gómez on Montreux III (1975)
- Wynton Marsalis on Hot House Flowers (1984)
- John McLaughlin with Jeff Beck on The Promise (1995)
- Gary Burton with Mulgrew Miller on For Hamp, Red, Bags, and Cal (2001)
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Gioia, Ted (2012). The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire. Oxford University Press. pp. 82–83. ISBN 978-0-19-993739-4.
- ^ a b c Burlingame, Sandra. "Django". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
- ^ Zwerin, Mike (November 25, 2003). "Percy Heath Recalls the Modern Jazz Quartet". Culture Kiosque. Archived from the original on December 6, 2003. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
- ^ "Django". NPR. October 2, 2000. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
- ^ "Songs of the Century". CNN. March 7, 2001. Retrieved September 6, 2018.