Manouche Swing!

I bought this Album a couple years ago for one of my buddies. My favorite gifts to give, are the one's that I secretly want. My mommy gave this album to me for Christmas, and it makes me so happy. Really, I just pop it in and start smiling, in spite of any long list of complaints that I probably shouldn't spout off, or even have (including the textbook racketeers!). Gypsy Swing, or Manouche Swing is a blend of Gypsy virtuosity and American jazz. It all began with Jean-Baptiste 'Django' Reinhardt. He was born into a Manouche family, which is a nomadic people that live around France and other nearby countries. Django began playing the guitar and became an up and coming musician in the dance hall scene, even though he couldn't read music. One day his caravan caught fire, and he was badly injured, losing the use of two fingers, but he soon started to play again and developed a personal style that only made his music more captivating! In the 1930's jazz was getting big in France, and Django started playing in jazz clubs, mixing his Manouche music with the jazz that had been so influencial. Anyway, typical manouche ensembles seem to have an accordion, a bass, violins, guitars, ya know, whatever. I just love accordion, seriously puts me in a good mood, and gypsy violin is astounding. I don't think you could find a better album if you tried.