The guitar in Gypsyjazz

[…]
„Zigeuner-Jazz" (Gypsy-Jazz): this term has evolved in the early 1960ies as a variation of Swing, beeing played by german Gypsies. The Gypsy-Jazz is closely related to the music of the great french Gypsyguitarrist Django Reinhardt (*1910, +1953).“

This quote defines one of the few definitions which is to find in literature about ‘Zigeuner-Jazz’ (or ‘Gypsy Swing’, ‘Gypsy Jazz’, Sinti-Jazz’, ‘Sinti-Swing’, ‘Jazz Manouche’). The short text leaves open many questions about it. How close one may relate this style to german Gypsies? Is Gypsy-Jazz really a variation of common "Swing-music"?

These are just a few questions that may arise by this text. The more it is nessesary to try to deeper define this issue.

With this dissertation i will try to give a more complex definition of the term ‘Zigeuner-Jazz’. Relating the historical backgrounds since Django Reinhardt until today to the guitarristic analysis of certain aspects of playing the style will be developed here to closer define the so called "Zigeuner-Jazz".

Also i will try to define the role of the person Django Reinhardt in this style, as the development inside the Gypsyjazz-scene that is related to his name. It is not to be discussed the role of Django Reinhardts in  Jazz-history, but furthermore to be pointed out his influences on certain aspects of the style.[…]

[…]
„The music of Sinti, Manouches, Gitans and Roma in mid- and western-europe“ at the beginning of the 20. century is put together by „Gypsy-folklore“, is compounded by songs in „Romani or Romanes" (their own language) as well as mostly instrumental music of east-european origin. "The songs of the Gypsies are made up of mocking, drinking- or lovesongs, children-rimes or death complaints. The "Zigeunermusic" of east-european origin is made up from instrumental festivity-songs from balkan, the Ukraine or even russian origin played by Roma.“ Their mainform is the "Csárdás". Besides that the repertoire is made up from different sources: Romantic music, famous popular music and operas (e.g. Strauß or Léhar) and from common dace-tunes of the 19th century (Waltzes, Polkas).[…]

[…]"These adapted compositions were taken over because of their musical- and aesthetical qualities of their own traditions, thus had a special attraction to the Gypsymusicians by that reason. While playing at guesthouses and parties (the so called ‘Ständeln’, e.g. "playing around at places") these chosen songs also attracted the non-Gypsies ("Gadje" in Romanes) they mostly used to play for, thus beein well payed, as the playing was the main income of the Sintimusicians ever since. The french Manouches did the same by adapting famous Musette- or Chanson-tunes ...“

In similar this is also true for the Gypsies living in Spain and South-France that had come to Paris lter on, the so called "Gitanos", that were mainly influenced by the Flamenco as their musical roots but as well took over the influences of their new homelands. The musical presentations of the Gypsymusicians was always beeing characterized by their emotional and highly virtuos playing, with an inclination to virtuoso decoration or the change between Rubato, as well as long stood tones and shoot up to lively passages.
Additionally the Gypsymusicians were well asked because of their excellent Picking-technisques on the guitars as accompanying bands, but also as solists within.[…]

[…]The mainstream of popular music in Paris of the early 1920ies were the so called "Bals Musettes" (french for "Waltzing bals"), which is has also been called "music of the street and of the dancefloors". The base of this music has been the famous "Valse-Musettes" (Musette-Waltzes), that were additionally extended by Tangos, Paso-Dobles, Polkas, Foxtrotts, Javas, Charlestons and later on also Swingadaptions in the repertoires. The Accordeon is the main-instrument of this music, accompanged by bands in which banjo- or guitarplayers played a main role.

The most famous guitarrists of that time besides Auguste Malha, called "Gousti", were the brothers Ferré: Étienne Ferré (1912-1970), called ‘Sarane’, Jean Ferré (1918-1989), called ‘Matelot’ and Pierre Ferré (1908-1976), called ‘Baro’. In the beginning of the 1930ies the brothers Ferré were soon to become famous names in the parisian musicscene, at first as  virtuos Banjo- or Bandurria-, later on as guitarplayers. Also they have been invited to recording-sessions with famous Accordeonists such as Jo Privat and others.

The most famous of the three brothers was Sarane Ferré, who specialized on the music of the QdHCDF (Quintette du Hotclub de France), as well as Matelot Ferré, who mainly played in the tradition of the "Bals musettes". Matelot Ferret was engaged on numerous recordings of Accordeonists such as Gus Viseur, Tony Mureno or Jo Privat.
Additionally he worked as sidemen with well known singers of Chanson- and popular music such as Jean Tranchant, Charles Trenet and Edith Piaf.
Also Django Reinhardt (at first under the name ‘Jungo Renard’) began his carreer about 1923 in the "Bals musettes" as accompaning Banjo-player with the famous Musette-Accordeonist Guérino Varese. Later on he changed into different Bals-Musette-Formations and made his first recording-sessions in July and Oktober 1924 with the Accordeonist Jean Vaissade.[…]

[…]After the american Recordingindustry in 1932 reached their first lowest peak (until 1933 most of the companies except Victor, Decca and Columbia had to close up), Europe was found as a new market. Many important Jazzrecord were produced directly for the european market, especially the one in Great-Brittain.
Due to many racial problems additionally many american Jazzmusicians (a lot of them were coloured) came to Europe where these problems weren´t that essentially dangerous. The european audience was giving them a warm welcome.
„Many of the european intellectuals developed the magic of the exotic, primitive and thus refreshing modern arts.“

In 1933 Duke Ellington played in Europe, as in the years before Louis Armstrong. Other artits such as Coleman Hawkins, Benny Goodman and others followed.

„The great european audience always whorshipped the american Jazzbands, which were mainly coloured musicians. Starting with the Hell Fighters, a military band conducted by Jim Europe that played in serveral french metropols in 1918 which left real enthusiastic audiences behind, on to the orchestras of Will Marion Cook, Noble Sissle and Sam Wooding, apart from some "white" bands like the "Original Dixieland Jazz Band" and the "Mound City Blue Blowers".

The audience was giving frenetic applause to the Revues of coloured musicians and dancers from America, as for example the ‘Revue Nègre’ with Josephine Baker, the "Claude Hopkins-Orchestra" and Sidney Bechet, who first played in 1925 in the "Théâtre de Champs Élysée" giving their debut ...“

The Jazz, that swapped over by records and radiostations that played the "new sound", the music of guitarrist Enter Salvatore Massaro, better known as Eddie Lang (1892-1933), who in 1926 used to play with his schoolbuddy and violonist Joe Venuti making many records, establishing the guitar as a solo-instrument as one of the first in Jazz.
In these duetts in the beginning they played Mazurkas (3/4-beat) and Polkas (2/4-beats), which they just for fun, interpreted as 4/4-beat songs. It followed the first improvisations: Joe Venuti began  with a line of improvisations and Eddie Lang played variations above it.
In his carreer Lang played with uncountable orchestras, e.g. the ones of Bix Beiderbecke, Paul Whiteman with Bing Crosby, as on many studio-sessions for different singers like Al Jolson or Bluessinger Bessie Smith. Especially interesting are the recordings with certain duos he made like for example with Carl Kress and Dick McDonough.[…]

[…]
Jean-Baptiste ‘Django’ Reinhardt born into a gypsyfamily on 23. January 1910 in Liverchies (Belgium), was living his first years travelling by caravan. Together with his mother called ‘Négros’, and his younger brother Joseph, called ‘Nin-Nin’ he was travelling thru France, Italy and Algerie, until his family settled with their caravans around 1918 in the subburbs of Paris/France. At the age of 12 years he got a guitar-banjo. He was developing his arts very quick and at the age of 12 he was alreay virtuos on that.
Very often he used to play with the humpbacked guitarplayer Lagadière until early morning in some Cafés. One year later he met Accordeonist Guérino and got invited to play the Bals musettes of Paris. Between July and October 1924 he made the first recoringsessions with  Jean Vissade (Akkordeon) as nemad ‘Jiango Renard’ for Ideal-label. Besides his working as musician Django Reinhardt play regularely at "after-hours-sessions’ - he loved american music.
He soon changes over to guitar at the age of 16. On November 2nd 1928 he suffers from a heavy accident: he survives an burning inferno in his caravn, heavily burnt at the whole body, especially the left hand. After recovering for about 18 months he got recreated a bit, but leaving behind an disability at his hand: the tendons of his pinky and ringfinger stay shortened as almost stiff and crippled (see also Django - the Guitar-Maestro).

Due to this disablity Django Reinhardt developed his own unique guitartechnique that made it to play almost without his injured fingers. Around that time in 1929 his first son Henri Baumgartner was born. In the beginning of the 1930ies Django Reinhardt works as a streetmusician not beeing interested in the bals musettes anymore, thus more beeing influenced by the new sound of Jazz.
Because of that he gets invited by Jazz-enthusiastic Pianist Stephen Mougin. Alsways travelling thru south-France, he meets Émile Savitry in 1931 in Toulon, introducing the music of Duke Ellingtons, Louis Armstrongs and Eddie Lang/Joe Venuti as well as becoming his mentor.
Besides beeing influenced by Savitry, Django Reinhardt starts his first steps as Jazzmusician with doublebass player Louis Vola, who already played in Toulon and Cannes as a bandleader and with his band he playes his first debut in Paris in December 1932.

In the following years Django plays a lot with musicians of the parisian musicscene such as Jean Sablon, André Ekyan or Stéphane Grapelli, thus finding many admirers to his art. Savitry is organising a concert in 1934 for the "Hot Club de France" which was founded in 1922, thus helping Django making his breakthrough:
„One can say that Django was the great development of this evening. He is a very remarkable musician that his style of playing os absolutely unique .... not comparable to anyone else... now we have a great new improvisor in Paris ... above all that Reinhardt is a fascinating boy that seems to put the same Phantasies into his life as into his Solos ...“

By meeting Stéphane Grapelli the idea of a string-quartett is born, that finally started in December 1934 with the following setup: Django Reinhardt (Solo-Guitar), Stéphane Grapelli (Violin), Roger Chaput (Rhythmguitar), Joseph Reinhardt (Rhythmguitar) and at first Emmanuel Soudieux, later on Louis Vola (Doublebass) founded as the Quintett du Hot Club de France and debuting in "École Normale de Musique" in Paris.

The first years of the Quartett were very exciting. Besides the regular recordings starting in 1935 Django Reinhardt was developed from more and more people and vast audiences listening to his virtuosity.
Additionally he had the chance to meet all the great american Jazzmusicians.
So he played in Jam-Sessions with Louis Armstrong, Eddie South, as Coleman Hawkins and Benny Carter in Paris, with whom he also did recordings in 1937. In 1939 he also shortly met Duke Ellington. From 1936 they began touring all over Europe hitting Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Scandinavia and England. When the war broke out in 1939 they separated, as Stéphane Grapelli stayed in England until 1947, while the rest of the musicians went back to Paris to be with their families.

In the waryears Django Reinhardt found a new companion with the clarinettist Hubert Roasting, thus finding back to new triumph with the new Quintette travelling thru the french province.
Additionally Django became Number one within the musicians of Paris, beeing invited to play all possible occasions and recordings.
Another important event of these years was the composing of a sophisticated Sinfonia with the title ‘Manoir de mes Rêves’ (as the well known song-classic from Django Reinhardt), to which Jean Cocteau, one of the boiggest admirers of Django, had written a poetical text. But this Sinfonia, which had numerous people including Django made sleepless nights, was never performed live as it was harmonically very challenging and thus very heavy to play - so it just vanished in the end.“
Asides that the marriage with his girlfriend "Naguine" and just little later, in 1944, the birth of his second son Babik soon followed. (see Django - private Life).

Yet another event form him was the opening of his own nightclub ‘La Roulotte’ in the Rue Pigalle, later recalled into ‘Chez Django Reinhardt’ and of which he was the owner for a while. After the freeing of Paris by the allied troups  at the 24./25. August 1944 Django performed together with Fred Astaire and plays with some solists of the "Glenn Miller Orchestra" (Glenn Miller already was dead at that time).[…]

[…]In November 1946 Django Reinhardt was invited by the Duke Ellington Orchestra for a tour in the USA, which should become a bad experience for the guitarrist, as he had to play on electrical guitars for the first time and didnt work out well with the instrument. The result was that he became mashed by the critics.
But much more again he heared a new sound in the USA that was about to raise named ‘BeBop’. Inspired nevertheless by this new experiences in the USA back in France he starts to play his own Maccaferri-guitar with Pickups and amplifiers. Still desillusioned he withdraws from music more and mor ein the following years and focuses on painting (see Django - the Painter).

Again there were Tours beeing made thruought Europe as well as serveral recordings again with the Quintett and also a reunion with Stéphane Grapelli.
Django Reinhardt now tries more and more to get deeper into the new style of BeBop, since after 1947-49 he had withdrawed from music. In February 1951 there is  aperformance in the Parisian Club "Saint-Germain" with the newly inspried Generation of french musicians such as the brothers Hubert and Raymond Fol, Maurice Vander, Pierre Michelot, Bernard Hulin and Roger Guérin.
Django Reinhardt stayed in this Club for 5 months also recording some tunes there at Live-performances. Introduced by the brothers Fol he gets to know the music of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespies. Pierre Michelot said about the last recordings that Django Reinhardt made in march 1953 for Blue Star-records: „I wa completely astonished that he played his old tunes like ‘Nuages’, maybe the producers suggested that. But he played these recordings completely different than in older versions. To me this was the best Version of ‘Nuages’ that he ever recorded. All the time he was quoting Parker and Dizzy. In certain parts and at fast tempos he played "broken phrases" in a kind of way that only Bebop-Players ever did. That happened already in 1951 on some recordings. But this record for Blue Star ... wouldnt he have died little later on, this phase would have ment a complete change of life and another comeback for him...“

Again at home, in Samois, on May 15th 1953, Django goes fishing at first, after taking a coffee with friends, but by the time he got home he get hit by a stroke. All the help in the hospital is too late. He dies the day atfer on may 15th at the age of only 43 years (see also Django - private Life). His heritage is a vast unimaginable lot of recordings (approx. 600) as well as a huge amount of original compositions.

Now here should be explained his merits of the development of the Jazz-Guitarplaying, as mentioned by Jürgen Schwab in his essay ‘Die Jazzgitarre und ihre spezifischen Ausdrucksmittel bei Django Reinhardt’ has been compiled:
„He was leading the first Jazzensemble, where guitar has become an emacipated and even dominating instrument as far as building soloing and melodic attitude. His sharpened dynamic and lively articulation he reaches by artistic sophistication on his acousticguitar, in such way that is comparable to brass-sections.

His improvisational abilities and virtuosity upstages everything that which was to expect from any Jazzguitarrist until then and still is reached by only very few.
Reinhardt is not only on time of his era, he has become beyond that in his lifetime. Some arpeggios and chromatic cycles later on were played by Charlie Parker and Charlie Christian playing a big role, even the very often used  ‘approach-note’ figures are recalled in Bebop later on. The building of long phrases, preferably in eights-notes, is another fururistic feature of Django Reinhardts style and also is to be found in Charly Christian´s playing as well as in Bebop.

Many new playing techniques were beeing developed and entered into the jazzguitar-playing vokabulary by Reinhardt: Octave-doublelayers, ‘false-fingering’-Effects with Unisono on neighboured strings, chord- and single-tremolos, ‘sweep-picking’ for fastest arpeggios, artificial Flageoletts, using of empty strings as a "Pedal" with changing played notes.
He very much liked ‘off-beat’-accents and complex accent-overlays with octave- or sixt-chords or the play on just one string. These elements are to find with Country- and Rockguitarrists later on.“

Another interesting progress in the sound of JazzManouche after the death of Django Reinhardts interestingly is to find amongst Sintis in western europe.
Except some few players like for example in England Ivor Mairants, Diz Disley and Ike Isaacs, this music has become some kind of new "gypsy owned folklore" thus mentioned as a new Gypsyfolklore.
Michel-Claude Jalard writes in his essay ‘Django et l’école tsigane du Jazz’: „L’univers musical de Django est pour eux, un langage commun parce qu’en plus de son art, et à travers lui, ils retrouvent tout un lyrisme instrumental qui renvoie à leur sensibilité
propre. Ce ‘supplément ethnique’, si l’on peut dire, fait que Django est non seulement le maître d’une conception de la guitare - au même titre que Charlie Christian en somme - mais vraiment le chef d’une école tsigane de jazz.“
Django Reinhardt today has, due to his ethnic belonging of Gypsies, become to a new school, the Sintiswing, Gypsyjazz or JazzManouche. […]

In contrary to Germany, where the violin has a long tradition in JazzManouche, in France there was no formation or band with a well known violinist (except QHDF). The Manouche-musicians in France are very much guitar-oriented, thus strongly related to the musical tradition of Django Reinhardt, as of modern Jazzplayers.

Typical features of the Repertoires of german Sintis, especially of the eastern european Folklore, are not to be found in France.[…]

[…]
Again in contrary to Germany, there is a strong conciousness amongst french Manouche-musicians about their own culture. Even many recordings state that today mostly it will be played in Django-Reinhardt-Tradition, there is a stronger development in Jazz paralell to contemporary Jazzmusicians, in France as against other european countries. In France the playing of the old tradition style is more or less coloured up by contemporary manipulation of modern Jazz-streams.

The Django-Reinhardt-Repertoire and his compositions are played with a modern kind of approach, prooved by recordings of Christiam Escoudés (‘Gipsy Walz’, ‘Christian Escoudé With Strings Plays Django Reinhardt’) or Bireli Lagrenes (‘My Favorite Django’). So there is no more pure traditional JazzManouche in the style, but the more Jazzmusic which beeing played by Sintis and Manouches, which has developed from the style of the traditional structure of QdHCDF in connection to development of other Jazz-styles. […]

Austria/Netherlands/Belgium (Summary)

[…]
Despite just a few important Gypsy-musicians out of these countries it is difficult to make any statements of the developing of this style im summary.

It is to be menioned nevertheless that there is a big amount of  Manouches/Sintis that have settled there, which are still closely oriented to the traditional style of Django Reinhardts.

Stochelo Rosenberg, as also Fapy Lafertin come from families with a long musical tradition, beeing transmitted for ages from generation to generation.

One could imagine that the traditional streams are dominant in these circles keeping up on Django Reinhardts heritage.
[…]

Music historical summary

[…] It is layed and prooved detailed that the term "Zigeunerjazz" (Gypsyjazz) is historically bound to one person. When the QdHCDF was founded by Django Reinhardt in 1934, a musical progress began that lasts until today.

Django Reinhardt over the years developed his own unique style, on basis of his experiences from Zigeunerfolklore and the Bals Musettes, in connection to the Jazz music of the 1930ies and 40ies, thus beeing borrowed by Gypsymusicians mainly out of ethnic reasons. By that a new kind of musical tradition of Zigeuner-Music was developed.

In France, a country where after the end of war activities of Gypsy-/ Manouche-musicians were still possible, a new development in paralell to contemporary Jazz is to recognize.

Even by raising in the tradition of Django-Reinhardts music the maintainance of the style is mainly done by the repertoires, which additionally gets updateted on todays music (e.g. Bireli Lagrene or Christian Escoudé). Another progress of this kind is to develop not only in France but also other countries. Thus finding updated new stylistic integrated into the traditional style.

Many young musicians try to adapt new structures of improvisation from new modern jazz into the traditional forms of bandsetup, made up from traditional rhythmgroup and their instruments (example:  Martin Weiss). Another third stream are the ones that keep up the original Idiom of "Zigeuner-Jazz" (Gypsyjazz).

Especially in germany, but as well in Netherlands or Belgium, the gypsymusicians keep holding tight to the musical heritage of Django Reinhardt.
This strongly shows the keeping of instruments and structure of the setups of the QdHCDF, as of their repertoires (also new adaptons will be integrated into the traditional Repertoire and Swing-Idiome) as of the way of interpretation and maintainance of Django Reinhardt´s playingstyle.

The most important representants of this stream are Schnuckenack Reinhardt, The Rosenberg Trio, Titi Winterstein. One can speak of a new school within these musicians which was pointed out by  Michel-Claude Jalard as ‘l’école tsigane du Jazz’ or the "new school of Zigeuner-Jazz".

That means: Zigeuner-Jazz is the traditional sacrificing and conserving of Django Reinhardts heritage and the QdHCDF.[…]

[…]
Despite just a few important Gypsy-musicians out of these countries it is difficult to make any statements of the developing of this style im summary.

It is to be menioned nevertheless that there is a big amount of  Manouches/Sintis that have settled there, which are still closely oriented to the traditional style of Django Reinhardts.

Stochelo Rosenberg, as also Fapy Lafertin come from families with a long musical tradition, beeing transmitted for ages from generation to generation.

One could imagine that the traditional streams are dominant in these circles keeping up on Django Reinhardts heritage.
[…]

[…] It is layed and prooved detailed that the term "Zigeunerjazz" (Gypsyjazz) is historically bound to one person. When the QdHCDF was founded by Django Reinhardt in 1934, a musical progress began that lasts until today.

Django Reinhardt over the years developed his own unique style, on basis of his experiences from Zigeunerfolklore and the Bals Musettes, in connection to the Jazz music of the 1930ies and 40ies, thus beeing borrowed by Gypsymusicians mainly out of ethnic reasons. By that a new kind of musical tradition of Zigeuner-Music was developed.

In France, a country where after the end of war activities of Gypsy-/ Manouche-musicians were still possible, a new development in paralell to contemporary Jazz is to recognize.

Even by raising in the tradition of Django-Reinhardts music the maintainance of the style is mainly done by the repertoires, which additionally gets updateted on todays music (e.g. Bireli Lagrene or Christian Escoudé). Another progress of this kind is to develop not only in France but also other countries. Thus finding updated new stylistic integrated into the traditional style.

Many young musicians try to adapt new structures of improvisation from new modern jazz into the traditional forms of bandsetup, made up from traditional rhythmgroup and their instruments (example:  Martin Weiss). Another third stream are the ones that keep up the original Idiom of "Zigeuner-Jazz" (Gypsyjazz).

Especially in germany, but as well in Netherlands or Belgium, the gypsymusicians keep holding tight to the musical heritage of Django Reinhardt.
This strongly shows the keeping of instruments and structure of the setups of the QdHCDF, as of their repertoires (also new adaptons will be integrated into the traditional Repertoire and Swing-Idiome) as of the way of interpretation and maintainance of Django Reinhardt´s playingstyle.

The most important representants of this stream are Schnuckenack Reinhardt, The Rosenberg Trio, Titi Winterstein. One can speak of a new school within these musicians which was pointed out by  Michel-Claude Jalard as ‘l’école tsigane du Jazz’ or the "new school of Zigeuner-Jazz".

That means: Zigeuner-Jazz is the traditional sacrificing and conserving of Django Reinhardts heritage and the QdHCDF.[…]

[…]
After showing all aspects of the stylisitc analysis of Django Reinhardts, it is to be pointed out how the stylisitc elements get integrated into the playing in general. His personal influence on the playing of todays Gypsyjazz-guitarrist cannot be neglected (especially with Gypsymusicians), thus resulting from the sociological combinations of the Gypsies: "the maintainance of Traditions is higly practised amongst the Sinti & Roma".
Their great musicality explains also the old tradition of the profsession as musicians for centuries that is beeing transmitted only orally for generations.

The living musical tradition in everydays life, where the Gypsysies get in touch with music completely natural by beeing surrounded by music from young age in contact with instruments and the playing fahter, uncle or relatives are the cornerstone for the brilliant technical ability and potential that is beeing forewarded by all the families."

The musical heritage is donated to the next generations (see book "Gypsyjazz Guitar"). That means for the style of JazzManouche that the young guitarrists learn from the family and grow into the style naturally. The personal style of Django Reinhardt is reflecting the musical roots of these people, thus beeing trsnamitted traditionally. A very good example for that Stochelo Rosenberg (The Rosenberg Trio), who in his early recordings copied Django Reinhardts chorus Note by Note.[…]

[…]After showing many analytical aspects now here is to show a summary stylistic analysis of improvisation of todays Gypsyjazz-guitarrists. From anylizing choruses of many players there is a lot of stley-building elements to be mentioned:

• Rhythmical aspects: a linear playing strutured by long eights-notes and eights-note-chains
• the using of polyrhythmical and syncoped Figures.
• Melodybuilding: mainly by arpeggios, but as well of harmonic-Minor-, and Major-scales, as of the use of the chromatic scale or of ‘chromatic-approach’-Figures.
• Harmonic Struktures: very chord-intensive play. Harmnies get confirmed by playing focussed notes of chord tones. Nevertheless also chordal anticipations, sequences with disminished chords, as of the reintrpretation of the dominant to a unfinished dominant-Seventh-Nine-chord.
• The use of ‘approach’-Figures of all kinds, thus resulting chromatic cycles between the base note and flat-seven b7, as of 6, up- and downwards. Chord insertions as chordal melodies, strongly oriented on the base harmony.
• Techniques and Effects: Using of Octaves as Effect and as melodic Element; Tremolos in connection of chord insertions; the ‘Sweep picking’, useing mainly downstroked playing; playing in diagonals.. A very virtuos oriented playing.
• Articulation: hard downstrokes, Staccato, Vibrato, Halfnote-bendings, semiquaver-approaches, ornamenting by thrillers as eight-notes or eight-triplets, or as fast thriller inside eightnote-chains. […]

[…]
Based on the stylistic analysis of Django Reinhardt and today's Zigeuner-Jazz-guitarista you can easily see that the Improvisations-Structures are deignated to a sort of 'school' based on Django Reinhardt as mentioned such in various essays.

In the end these characteristics will show the "style-building" elements of the Zigeuner-Jazz. There are those who remained primarily into the Django-Rheinhardt-School and thus define the style (see book "Gypsyjazz Guitar").

This indicates that there is a separation between what was used in the further developement and what remained exclusively in the style and thus allows a definition. It is in any case reflected that Zigeuner-Jazz is a style in the tradition of Django Reinhardt which is completed, that can be treated as musical complex, as alone it is defined by the person of Django Reinhardt.[…]