But Django's Minor Swing continues to echo across Paris's café-jazz scene every night.
Today, in a France where Gypsies remain outcasts, the best manouche musicians – young and old – can still be found on the city's outskirts. The clubs where Django made his name with violinist Stéphane Grappelli and their Quintette of the Hot Club of France in the 1930s and 40s have for the most part either shut or turned into more modern jazz venues. Other centenary celebrations include a performance of the Django 100 group of modern stars of jazz manouche at the Théatre des Champs-Elysées on 14 March and a centenary edition of the Django Reinhardt Festival in June at Samois-sur-Seine, south of Paris. In the northern 18th arrondissement, near the banlieue of Saint-Ouen where Django's family moved their caravan from Belgium when he was a boy, a square was renamed Place Django Reinhardt in a ceremony to mark his birthday on 23 January. This year marks the centenary of the birth of legendary guitarist Django Reinhardt and Paris has been paying homage to the inventor of Gypsy jazz. All our journalism is independent and is in no way influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative.īy clicking on an affiliate link, you accept that third-party cookies will be set.W ith its upbeat swing of guitars, violin and the occasional clarinet or saxophone, jazz manouche is the music of Paris's Gypsy periphery that made it to the big time. This article contains affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if a reader clicks through and Know a great Paris record shop? If so, tell us about it in the comments below He has just come back from 20 years working at Academy Records in New York, and his specialities are first pressings of funk, hip-hop and disco, while next door’s Panorama Records is the place for Latin, African, Oriental and experimental music.ġ32-140 rue des Rosiers, Saint-Ouen. Eric Blaze has a much funkier space, Blazing Music, decorated with graffiti. Monsieur Hichem, a friendly part-time DJ, runs record label and vinyl stand Rocket Records, which specialises in rockabilly, although you will also find rare Alain Delon singles, Gainsbourg and of course Johnny Hallyday. Ten years ago, part of the first floor was turned into a dedicated music section and today, with around 10 stores, this is the largest permanent space selling secondhand records in Europe. Parisian flea markets can be a gold mine for vintage vinyl, but few can compare to the hidden-away Dauphine section of the labyrinthine Marché de Clignancourt. Every Thursday at 7.30pm there is a live showcase event.ġ-3 Avenue Trudaine, 9th arrondissement,. One section specialises in pop, rock and a big selection of French artists, while the other is more eclectic: new recordings and reissues of little-known world music, jazz, funk and electronic.
Thomas Changeur founded the first store seven years ago, expanding next door in 2015. You wonder how anyone finds anything, though this could explain its popularity with diggers looking to uncover a priceless gem.
#FRENCH CAFE MUSIC PARIS COMBO PLUS#
Today, everyone’s favourite spot there is Balades Sonores, which is packed to bursting with vinyl, CDs, cassettes, plus a lot more – ceramics, recycled designer clothes, handmade shoes, books, art and photo exhibitions.
The 11th and 12th arrondissements may be the new centre for record stores, but the Paris music scene used to be centred across town, just below Montmartre in the Anvers neighbourhood. With a new exhibition, Music Migrations (, until 5 January 2020), dedicated to the multicultural influences that transformed the Paris and London music scenes from the 1960s to the 80s, this is a good time to discover the top disquaires unearthed by local DJ and record dealer, Gwen Jamois. P aris has a vibrant secondhand record scene, with stores all over the city stocking rare vinyl of everything from Ghanaian Highlife to calypso, classic chansons françaises – Edith Piaf, Charles Trenet, Georges Brassens, Serge Gainsbourg – plus electronic music and techno.