BorntoSorab Modi remembers the sparkling career of St6phane Grappelli,

the genial French violinist who transformed jazz with his individual style

o

-!:

t6phane Grappelli was for me a {igure of mythicdimension. I had heard his records with the legendary

Quintette du Hot Club de Rance, with jazzmen suchas Oscar Peterson, George Shearing, Barney Kessel,Toots Thielemans and others. I even tried. but with

despairingly little success, to recreate his phrasing, style andinirnitable sense of rhythm on a few iazz standards. Grappellibrought to his every per{ormance a tremendous joie and ever-youthful vitality. British-born jazz critic Leonard Feather saidtliat the violinist played with more cheerd.rl self-con{idence in hislate 60s thanhe had done inhis youth.

I first met Grappelli after a session at a Washington, DCnight-club in 1981 and was overwhelmed by his warrr-r and genialpersonality. Yes, his achievements over 60 1'ears of music had gir.en him an aura of invincibilitl', yet here was the gentlest of giants.

That {irst meeting led to several more. These included his 1990India visit for the jazz festival Jazz Yatra. There, apart from play-ing with his rhythm section, the 82 year old, always in search ofnew experiences, teamed up with the Indian violinistSubramtrniam and Indian percussionists to create some magicalmoments. He moved between the different styles with easy andutterlv remarkable musical refinement. Subramaniam was

alu'ays trmazed by Grappelli's eagerness to reach for new expres-sion and recalls that, 'For our encounter in Bombay I wroteCom:ersation and he in his turn composed Tiibute to Mani. Hewas a supreme musician and I respect his memory'

Grappelli was a largely self-taught musician. With hismusic-loving father he went to concerts in Paris and his ears wereawakened to music. He craved to make music himself and whenhe was given a violin by his father he recalled, 'We had a piano inthe house and to amuse myself I started to play the violin and pickout some chords on the piano.'The youngster also heard streetmusicians who were playing popular songs and'I tried to do thesame m)'self using one or two fingers on the violin. We were notrich and I did not have much pocket money. I saw the musiciansplaying in the courtyard and earning.' So one day he decided tofollow their example and began to earn money himself

Encouraged by his father to leam music, Grappelli enrolled atthe Paris Consen,atoire and acquired a diploma. But to earn alivinghe took a job as second fiddle with a silent-film pit group. Theyplays6 th. shows at 2pm and Spm and a pianist played the 5pmshow. One dal' the pia:rist asked Grappelli to deputise for him. 'This

happened again and again. That's how I leamed to play the piano.'The piano became Grappelli's other love and for three or four

years fiom 1927 he discarded his violin and played the piano r,vith

bands such as Gr6gor and his Gr6goriens. Accordirig to the.compose4 bandleader and multi-instrumentalist Benny Carter,who first played with Grappelli in 1937, 'His piano playing was

lovely. . . like everything he has ever done it r.vas in good taste.'

Grappelli discovered jazz

tirrough hearing recordings ofTetr f,,r Tlro and Stuttbling in a

local shop and he introducedStantbling to the cinema pitband, but it was his meetingwith the g1'ps1' guitarist DjangoReinhardt that changed thecourse of his jazz career.

Grappelli attributes the begin-ning of their famed colla-boration to fate. It happenedbetr.veen sets at a hotel whereeach 'nvas plaf ing in bands t|atalternated. Grappelli broke astring and rvent backstage toreplace it. While he was tr. ;

out the new string Reinhardtbegan to accompany him on hisguitar. These early musical doo-dlings pleased them and the,v

continued to play betweenbreaks. Soon guitarist RogerChaput and bassist Louis Volajoined them, as did Reinhardt'sbrotherJoseph. On 2 December1934 the group playecl its firstdate at the Hot Club in Paris andthe Quintette du Hot Club de

Rance was born. Tbe groupbegan recording, and some of its early cuts included Dinah,Tiger Rag, Laclg Be Goocl and I Saro Stms,It was soon hailed as

delivering the first independent European jazz style.The discs that followed those earl1' recordings in a stead.v

stream for some five years were interrupted by World War ILGrappelli spent the war years in England, during which timehe collaborated with musicians inch,rding the pianist GeorgeShearing. He and Reinhardt were reunited in London in1946 and recorded La Marseillaise , music fitting for A new (-

'Stdphane was a

supreme artistbecause he had the

tone and the beauty

ol a classical violinistbut the swing

of a iazz violinist.'

Grappelll wlth the Ouintette du Hot Club de Paris. Formed in 1934, thegroup was hailed as delivering the lirst independent European jazz style

beginning. But although the Quintette attempted to regroup it

''-'n split up. Reinhardt died in 1953 and when Grappelli laterp,.formed with the Canadian guitarist Diz Disley's trio, theykept a fifth chair empty in Reinhardt's memory.

During the 1950s and '60s, despite regular public appearancesin Europe, Grappelli experienced something of a lull in hiscareer until America discovered him in the 1970s. HisAmerican debut at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1969 wasspoiled by the rioting of the drunken crowd, but after hisCarnegie Hall debut in 1974 Grappelli saw his US popularitl'rise and he toured there regularly. For his 80th birthday in1988 members of the jazz and classical music worlds,including the Juilliard Quartet and Yo-Yo Ma, gathered atCarnegie Hall to pay tribute to him. Joel Smirnoff, leadviolinist of the Juilliard, recalls his association with Grappellias like a dream happening.

Producing this Carnegie Hall event was conductor andarranger Ettore Stratta. Stratta and Grappelli had collaboratedover the lilm Le Voleur and their association lasted for almosttwo decades. According to Stratta, 'St6phane was a supremeartist on the violin because he had the tone and the beauty ofthecr-rical violinist but the swing of a jazz violi:nist. He was a

cornbination of the best of both worlds.'Grappelli's popularity was further enhanced by his

association with Yehudi Menuhin. The pair appeared on televi-sion in 1973 and r.vent on to record severa.l albums, the first ofwhich was/alousie for EMI. Menuhin, who admired Grappelligreatly, said: 'My privileged friendship with St6phaneGrappelli is marked by the smile and sound of gentleness; gen-

tleness unburdened by the usual human anxieties, ambitions,competition or aggression. He played his heart out with a

directness unknown to the classical musical world. . . He playedthe violin as abird flies.'

Grappelli continued to play until very recently. InSeptember 1995 I heard him for the last time at the BairdAuditorium in Washingtons Smithsonian Institution. The vitalityand flawless inventiveness ofhis playing had a fteshness and pris-tine beauty; musically he was still young. That day he played twoconcerts, ending the night with a fascinating solo piano set whichhe played with grace and fluency. But age had taken its toll.Walking was difficult and he had to be helped on to the stage,

with the guitarist carrying his violin.Grappelli's hundreds of recordings span the development of

sound recording from the old shellac to the CD. They are a

testimony to his impeccable artistry and to his successfulcollaborations with a huge variety of artists, including many fel-low violinists such as Joe Venuti, Stuff Smith, Jean-Luc Pontyand Didier Lockwood. Among the most remarkable of these is

his swing recording of the first movement of Bach s 'Double'

Concerto with the American violinist Eddie South, whichGrappelli later described as 'un catastroph'. The German occu-pation army in Paris in the 1940s considered it a monstrousexample of degenerate art and melted down the entire pressing.Luckily a number of copies in private hands have sunrived.

In 1990 Grappelli recorded a solo piano CD with several jazz

standards and three Grappelli originals. What makes this discamazing is the fact that the 82 year old sustains the whole session

without rhythm. Thomas Frost, who co-produced the disc withBob Thiele, recalled: 'It was in an afternoon and part of an

evening that we accomplished a whole album... He was a bittemperamental and perhaps a little bit cranky after two or threehours. I was fascinated by his ability. I had never heard him pla1,

piano and it was amazing to me how facile and accurate he was.'Grappelli will always remain the father figure in the

world of jazz violin. His prodigious talent, amiability andalmost evangelical zeal helped him spread the message of theviolin in iazz. He always realised that he had to pass on thebow to another generation and he nurtured talent'uvhereverhe found it. He took the then tweive-year-old Nigel Kennedyunder his wing when he found him in the Yehudi MenuhinSchool, but it is perhaps Jean-Luc Ponty who can claim thedirect line of succession. Even the success of string quartetsin jazz, such as the Tirrtle Island and the Uptown, can belinked to what Grappelli has achieved. To quote violinist JoeKennedy Jr, 'he was a tremendous, tremendous influence...every practitioner in the area ol jazz violin appreciates hismarvellous contribution.' D

o

c

.

-

1908 Born St6phane Grappelly 26 January in Paris

1911 Mother dies; Grappelly placed in orphanage1918 Taken out of orphanage to live with father1920 Teaches himself to play the violin and learns to read musicfrom library books1922 Gets iob in cinema pit band1924 Plays in club band; teaches himself the piano

1927 JoinsArmenian group Gr6gorand his Gr6goriensas pianist

c.1930 Takes up the violin again1931 Meets gypsy guitarist Dlango Reinhardt

1934 Starts the Quintette du Hot Club de Paris with Reinhardt1939-45 Works with George Shearing, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington

and others in London

c.1945 Changes nameto Grappelli1946 Records swing version of Marseillaisewith Reinhardt;

Quintette regroups then splits up1947 Embarks on solo career playing in concerts and festivalsround Europe

1950s Be-bop era lessens his popularity

1969 Makes US debut at Newport Jazz Festival

1973 Teams up with Yehudi Menuhin on television and forTea for Two recording which later tops the charts'1974 Makes acclaimed Carnegie Hall debut1978 Celebrates 70th birthday with debut in RoyalAlbert Hall

1988 80th birthdaytribute held in Carnegie Hall

1997 ReceivesFrench Legionof Honouraward; dies 1 Decemberin a Paris clinic

.i.

;' *#.l g i+'"'

.@# rqEgh.

*ffi.:ff'

.i:

t&-,€

*"trtr

*.'@" S :i:

:

i%ffiffi-E* *%'Mff.w

Yo-Yo Ma and Stephane Grappelli

East West Arts Limited Presents

ANUP KUMARBISWASwith

NIGEL CLAYTON

The Wigmore HallSunday 15 October at7 o'clock

BEETHOVEN: Sonata for cello and piano,Op. 5 No.lMENDELSSOHN: Sonata for cello andpiano, Op. 58NARESH SOHAL: Monody;Shades IIIBRAHMS: Sonata in F major, Op.99

Tickers: !5, t6, f8, .{- l0from the Box Office, Wigmore Hall,36 lfigmore Street, London W1.Telephone 01-935 Zl41'

F or't'urther inf ormation contact :

East West Arts Limited93B Cambridge Gardens, London W10 6JE.

Tel: 0l-960 5889

{phorograf'lr : Maraa F airbarrn)