Django Reinhardt

Even as a jazz guitarist myself, it still boggles the mind what this guy could do. You would never know he had any fingers that were disabled. In fact, just the opposite, it sounds like he has more than everyone else. The melodic lines and phrases this guy played were beyond beautiful, and so advanced. You just wonder; HOW? The be-bop Django and Parker created is the peak of musical theory and discipline, way beyond classical (you actually need to master classical first before you can branch out to be-bop), and Django was at the top of the heap. Some people's understanding is just beyond the understanding of everyone else's I guess. It's a shame Django is only known by trained musicians, and guys like Clapton and Hendrix are worshipped by almost everyone else. Comparing Django to Clapton as guitarists is like comparing Albert Einstein to an impaired pre-schooler in mathematics. And that is truly an accurate analogy.

The master of all masters of the single note solo guitar. All the great players have their own style and imitators but Django Reinhardt really there is no one quite like him. There are people that play in the style as there are people that can play Beethoven or Mozart but they aren't Beethoven Mozart or Django. A lot of modern rock and jazz guitar comes from the original template set out by Reinhardt, old blues guys included. Many top guitarists like Les Paul, Chet Atkins, Jeff Beck, Wes Montgomery, BB King, Mark Knoffler and many others will testify just how good Reinhardt was. Yet in guitarist ratings these days you hardly ever see it reflected. I think this guy blows away anyone. And considering he's been dead close on 60 years that's some statement.

Now, he could play. Fun, swinging good times.

He only had 2 fingers.  Ditto what everyone else stated.

The physical limitations of having lost the use of two fingers forced him to rethink the way to play a guitar which resulted in an inventiveness akin to Hendrix playing a right-handed guitar left handed.  He expanded the jazz vocabulary to include the sounds of Eastern European folk music and along with Stephane Grappelli pioneered the music's popular appeal in pre-war Europe.  Late in his career he travelled to America, picked up the electric guitar and made a series of excellent recordings, of far superior sound quality to the ground breaking work he did with the Hot Club of Paris.

I have a considerable amount of Django on my Ipod and he is far better than almost any other on this list.  The problem with this list is that most of the listers have a limited taste in music and have mostly listened to head-bangers or hair bands.

He only had 2 fingers

classical stuff that gets preety boring.

For two active fingers.....as a jazz guitarist this guy still blows me away.........incredible.

I thought I was listening to the "Tom & Jerry" soundtrack when I listened to his music!

Historically, Django Reinhardt established a playing style that many jazz and jazz-fusion-rock guitarists are emulating. So, I'm tempted to lay it on him. However, rating the "best" of any artform is somewhat juvenile, in my opinion. It's like saying, who's the best impressionist of all time? Who's the best in architecture: Greece or Rome? At one moment I can be listening to Chet Atkins; another, Andres Segovia; or, Pat Metheny; Brian Hughes; Steve Vai; you want fast playing and perfectly-timed duos:  Farrah and Strunz...and I love each one for similar yet different levels of style and appeal...and the things they can do on guitar that I can only DREAM of.I read the entire list--and concluded that the average person's knowledge doesn't go much beyond contemporary music...which is fine, but anyone who emphatically proclaims that, say, Leslie West was WAY better than Wes Montgomery, Charlie Christian or Les Paul is merely advertising their limited musical education/experience.

One of the true greats of the jazz guitar.  Very lyrical, vigorous, fast as Hell.  Given the fact that he lost the pinky and one-half of the ring finger on his left hand in an accident and was still able to play the way he could is a testimony to the man's greatness.

A deity.

Ethereal, eclectic, excellence. The jazz guitar equilalent of Segovia, and like the master, a far better musician than all but a handful of the others on this list. Make no mistake, I think Clapton, Hendrix, and others are superb, and they take up substantial room in my collection. But Reinhardt and Segovia are in a class of their own as guitarists.

If you ask most people why they play guitar. Most will say so and so influence them. I just dont understand why this guy should get a suitable rating while 95.9% of the world dont even know who he is.

His guitar playing goes from the lyrical, like "Beyond the Sea" to frantic, seemingly unplayable, in "Tiger Rag". His best work was with the Hot Club of France where his reparte with violinist Stephane Grappelly (sp?)was legendary. He grew up an illiterate Gypsy, who could not read music, and as another has posted, only had to fingers on his fretting hand. A true genius.

Amen. Just listen to this man. Just once. You'll understand.

What's the deal with all these here today gone tomorrow sub-EVH metal fretw@nkers who've added little to the canon of guitar playing when the most influential player of all time gets sweet FA attention here? Without Django, all the players in this list and any other list would be stacking shelves in Walmart..and that includes Hendrix! Anyone who actually knows anything about guitar playing knows this.Fact. Oh and Sandman. if you dont know who Django is you've no right being in this forum

Same class as Wes, Les & Chester. PERIOD!

even Hendrix, Pass, Montgomery said that the best was Django... No comment ! he is still the best.

Django was light years ahead of his time. Listen to rock guitar and then listen to him when you're ready.

For those of you who don't know him, this guy played lightning fast runs and he could only use TWO of his fingers on his fret hand due to an injury (fire).

That Django could be at the bottom of this list with zero ratings tells me that most of the people leaving ratings here are not conniseurs or players,they're just voting for whoever plays in their favorite band.ANYONE who plays seriously or has much knowledge of the history of Guitar knows that Reinhardt was a Master.