In my early twenties, I had the good fortune to be introduced to the music of, and first see perform the legendary jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli. The first concert I attended was in the early 1970's in New York City's Greenwich Village. After the show, I had the even greater good fortune to meet him, where upon I told him how much I enjoyed his performance and that I too, a violinist, (albeit a very young and inexperienced one at the time) hoped one day to be able to play like him. He was very gracious and kind as we shook hands, and he wished me good luck.
This was very much a seminal moment in my life, and although I performed professionally for many years performing other types of music, (blues and rock for the most part) it was always a desire for me to be able to someday sincerely and vigorously pursue the study of the music and performing style of this master violinist.
This then recently led to a project of taking on the task of transcribing a great deal of his recordings and performances throughout his long and legendary career, with the intention of not just notating his use of notes and rhythms, but ultimately, to illuminate and illustrate the style, manner and musicianship in which he performed.
After transcribing some 200 of his recorded performances, I then decided to further extend the project by making videos/recordings of many of these transcriptions. The following is a series of videos (most, but not all) of these transcriptions that Grappelli originally recorded with the legendary guitarist Django Reinhardt, between the years of 1935 to 1949.
For immediate access to my YouTube channel, please click on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL_Kn6UXf8sLfdn0pYck2_g