Quintette Du Hot Club De France

Biography

The Quintette du Hot Club de France ("The Quintet of the Hot Club of France"), often abbreviated "QdHCdF" or "QHCF", was a jazz group founded in France in 1934 by the guitarist Django Reinhardt and the violinist Stéphane Grappelli. It was active in one form or another until 1948. One of the earliest and most significant continental jazz groups in Europe, the Quintette was described by critic Thom Jurek as "one of the most original bands in the history of recorded jazz." In contrast with the "New Orleans Sound" of groups like Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five and Hot Seven, the group (at least in its early incarnations) featured an (at that time, novel) "all strings" lineup with the lead parts taken by virtuoso acoustic guitar and violin, the bass part on double bass in place of tuba or sousaphone, and the rhythm and accompanying chords supplied by additional guitarists, with no drummer. Their most famous lineup featured Reinhardt, Grappelli, bassist Louis Vola, and rhythm guitarists Roger Chaput and Joseph Reinhardt (Django's brother) although occupants of the latter roles varied from time to time. Later incarnations of the Quintette (and its successors playing in a similar style) sometimes incorporated reeds (clarinet) players in place of Grappelli's violin, and also sometimes added a drummer in place of one of the rhythm guitars.

Bio from Wikipedia