#Nuages (meaning ‘clouds’ in French) is guitar player #DjangoReinhardt’s most famous composition. It was first recorded in 1940 although he did at least 13 versions after that.
There were no lyrics when Django wrote the piece, of course. But the melody is so beautiful and haunting that it didn’t take long before people wrote lyrics to it in both French and English.
While It is a popular instrumental piece, not so many singers do it, I wonder why.
Spencer Williams wrote English lyrics in 1942 and changed the name to #TheBluestKindOfBlues.
#PeggyLee (one of my ultimate favourites) sings it. And now me.
This time my accompanist is the wonderful guitar player Franco Donadio from Buenos Aires, Argentina. We hope to do more music together.
A little Django trivia for those who like that sort of stuff. There’s a 2017 film called #Django which you should see if you get a chance. I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard him count out to his band, ‘Ek Do Teen Char’ and kicked off a rollicking Hot Club tune. But then he was a #Roma (#Romani) #Gypsy, nomads who originally came from what is today #Rajasthan. The film shows how he survived WWII, forced to entertain German soldiers to stay alive.