The Aurore Quartet • Le Quecum Bar Live In London

Has any jazz musician been emulated after their passing as much as Django Reinhardt? Ironically, when Django died in 1953, hardly any guitarist sounded like him. Charlie Christian was the dominant influence and, other than Les Paul and to a lesser extent Charlie Byrd later in the decade, Reinhardt barely made an impact on guitarists of the 1950s and ‘60s. All of that changed in the 1980s with the rise of what was called “Gypsy Jazz.” Soon scores of younger guitarists and violinists were using Django and Stephane Grappelli as their musical models, particularly in Europe. That situation has only become more prolific in the decades since. The Aurore Quartet from Paris which was founded in 2004 features violinist-vocalist Aurore Violque, Siegfried Mandacé and Darko Andelkovic on guitars, and bassist Pierre Frasque. Le Quecum Bar Live In London is from the Le Q label, and one in a long series of gypsy jazz recordings recorded at that British establishment for the company. In addition to playing two lesser-known pieces by Django Reinhardt (“Mabel” and “Danse Norvegienne”) and just a few swing standards (among them “Blue Drag” and “All Of Me”), the Aurore Quartet performs a few obscure French swing tunes and some originals including three by Mandace. All of the material swings and could have originated in the late 1930s. To her credit, violinist Violque does n