Gypsy Jazz and French National Identity

Django Reinhardt started to play with the Quintette du Hot Club de France in 1934, and his style, commonly referred to as “gypsy jazz”, was clearly influenced by many different genres. Because of these multicultural influences, we will start questioning how “French” exactly was the Quintette du Hot Club de France. Looking at the titles of the Django repertoire, it is striking to see how his musical world was inspired by international locations: Hungaria, Japanese Sandman, Nagasaki, Brazil, Saint Louis Blues, NYC, Echos of Spain, Stockholm, Mystery Pacific, Porto Cabello, Place de Brouckere, etc. Django Reinhardt was a Rom, from the branch of the Manouche community (who have notably lived for the past five hundred years from Eastern France to Germany and Belgium), and spent most of his life traveling. This notion of traveling, of constantly being on the move, of not endorsing the mainstream Western materialistic values, can also be found in his music and in his way of approaching his instrument. In this study, we will explore the multiple influences found in Django Reinhardt’s music, and will draw parallels between his cultural heritage, his virtuosity, and his compositions. This will lead us to question the idea of French national identity in the context of multiculturalism. After all, what if the Quintette du Hot Club de France, because of its diverse influences, gave a very good representation of contemporary French identity?