Joseph "Nin-Nin" Reinhardt (1912–1982) was the younger brother of guitarist Django Reinhardt and played rhythm guitar on most of Django's pre-war recordings, especially those with the Quintette du Hot Club de France between 1934 and 1939. He was a pioneer of the amplified jazz guitar in France and performed for years on a home-made instrument of his own design.
Life and work
Reinhardt was born in Paris, France, on 1 March 1912, two years after his famous brother. In their teens they performed as a duo in the cafes and dance halls. Joseph Reinhardt was a member of the Quintette du Hot Club de France which recorded from 1934 to 1939. Beginning in 1943, he recorded as a solo act and with the Hot Four led by Stéphane Grappelli. After Django's death in 1953, Reinhardt briefly stopped playing guitar, but he returned to perform in Paul Paviot's documentary Django Reinhardt (1957), which included Grappelli, Henri Crolla, and other associates of Django.[1]
In the 1961 film Paris Blues, a film a with a lot of jazz-music, he appears (non-musical, non-speaking) as a guest at a rooftop party. [2]
In his late 60s, Reinhardt was photographed performing at the 1978 Django Reinhardt Festival in Samois-sur-Seine, which also featured his nephew and Django's first son Lousson, playing an electric Gibson archtop guitar. In the 1950s and 60s, Reinhardt played an unorthodox electric guitar of his own construction.
He died on 7 February 1982 at the age of 69. He is buried in the cemetery at Samois alongside Django.[3]
^Jean 'Django' Reinhardt: A Contextual Bio-Discography 1910-1953, page 304, ISBN 9781351561730
^Dregni, Michael (2008). Gypsy Jazz: In Search of Django Reinhardt and the Soul of Gypsy Swing. Oxford University Press. pp. 107–119. ISBN978-0-19-531192-1.
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