Guitarist Django Reinhardt was born on this day in 1910 to a Romani family in Liberchies, Pont-à-Celles, Belgium. A seminal figure in the creation of Gypsy jazz, Reinhardt remains one of the most important figures in jazz guitar and major influence among many of today’s top players.
This version of “Nuages,” today’s Song of the Day, comes from the 1991 Verve retrospective Peche a la Mouche: The Great Blue-Star Sessions 1947 – 1953. A lesser-known document of Django’s later period, the album found him embracing the sound of the electric guitar and incorporating techniques from modern swing and bebop.