Grappelli, Stephane

▪ 1998

      French violinist (b. Jan. 26, 1908, Paris, France—d. Dec. 1, 1997, Paris), was one of the few notable jazz improvisers on violin and one of the first popular European jazz musicians; he played with a lilting swing and quick wit that made him an international favourite for over 60 years. With the great Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt, he formed (1934) the first Quintette du Hot Club de France, a Paris-based group with a unique instrumentation—violin, three guitars, and bass—and a style that continued to influence jazz and popular musicians in Europe and the U.S. for decades. Grappelli's graceful, highly decorated solos contrasted with Reinhardt's dramatic intensity, and Reinhardt's antics complemented Grappelli's urbanity. The quintet disbanded in 1939, and Grappelli spent the World War II years in England, playing with pianist George Shearing and others. He went on to tour the world, performed five years at the Paris Hilton, and made his American debut in 1969, inventing romantic solos with groups that emulated the Hot Club style. Recordings, concerts, and television programs enhanced his popularity in the 1970s and '80s, when he teamed with Oscar Peterson and other leading jazz pianists, fellow jazz violinists Jean-Luc Ponty and Joe Venuti, and classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin, who likened Grappelli's improvisations to "the juggler who throws his pots and plates to the wind and yet retrieves them every time." In New York City at a Carnegie Hall tribute concert in 1988, he was joined by jazz musicians, the Juilliard String Quartet, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Although confined to a wheelchair, he continued concert touring into the mid-1990s.

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