Django in June

On the main Get Ready Musically page of this website you'll find recommendations for core Django repertoire you may want to work on so you can dive into jams at Django in June. On this page, I'm adding 8 new lead sheets for 2011 and I'll suggest to our teaching staff that they consider using these songs as vehicles for instruction. We'll cover at least 2 of these every day in our morning warmup before the official classes get going. If need be, you'll be able to start from scratch at Django Camp, but if you prepare in advance...well, you'll be better prepared. Have fun.

Here's a Django composition from the early 1940's, one that I haven't heard much at American jams. I don't know why...maybe because the tune is played in Ab. It's a catchy melody and an accessible jam vehicle, though, so let's give it a try this year, shall we? Let me know if you find anything questionable in the lead sheet. I'm sure there are different approaches floating about.

Try calling this one at a typical jazz jam session (where everybody's playing out of the Real Book) and folks will look at you as if you were dressed up like Rudy Valentino in The Sheik. Call it at a Django djam, though, and folks will dive right in. A very simple melody and straightforward progression make it a great jam vehicle so long as the tempo is manageable for mere mortals. The audio clip to the right is from Django and Stephane's 1937 recording of the song and you could spend a year with their solos. I'll give you a week, then on to a new tune. :)

Here's another early jazz standard familiar to Django buffs. I've included it not only for its familiarity and accessibility, but because some of the teachers on staff this year have given it extra attention, no doubt gaining insight they'll be happy to pass along to you. Michael Horowitz includes an in-depth study of it in his Gypsy Rhythm (Vol. 1). And Les Doigts De L'Homme included the song on their centenary tribute to the master, 1910. I've included an audio clip of their performance here, along with Django and Stephane's 1935 recording of it.

Every once in a while everyone needs to add a new ballad to their repertoire. Well, if you are not already playing this one, now's the time. If I'm not mistaken (and I might be, because I don't seem to have it in my collection) Django recorded Claire de Lune in 1947 and the tune is increasingly popular these days. It seems perfect for our purposes: very easy at its core, but with lots of headroom for more sophisticated or technically challenging interpretations.

We're going to cover two blues tunes at Camp this year -- one major, one minor -- to give our teachers the opportunity to share their perspectives on how you might approach Blues à la Django. Swing 48 is a minor blues that may be familiar to many of you already.

See the comments for Swing 48 above. Here's our major blues -- in A -- Blues For Ike. Please note that neither Swing 48 nor Blues for Ike need to be played as fast as the recorded versions I'm providing here. (Whew!)

This song has been played in a variety of styles and keys (most commonly Cm and Dm) by different Gypsy jazz artists, including Tchan Tchou, his protege Moreno, Fapy Lafertin and the Rosenbergs. The form itself varies among performers. This lead sheet presents the song as it would be approached by a singer: A-B-A. I suggest we do it as a Bolero because (1) it works great and (2) most of us need a greater variety of Latin tunes in our repertoire.

An obvious vehicle for working on our Gypsy Bossa. The version you can see and here in the video linked right is pretty much what I have in mind.To keep the lead sheet legible and only one page I left off the coda that is usually used to end the song. We'll learn that via the oral tradition! :)