To be fair, Gypsy Jazz is as hard to define as most other genres of music. As such, I feel that in writing this, I have to be very careful with my words and to properly backup my arguments, to avoid turning this into an attention-grabbing, sensationalist article. As they say, repeat a lie a thousand times and it becomes the truth. I must admit that I struggled a little bit with this article, not because I have trouble explaining myself, but because it is almost a one man battle: a handful of experts, that have done extensive research on the subject, against the rest of the world clinging to misinformation, and/or half truths cyclically perpetuated by the media. In some instances, Klezmer bands are considered Gypsy Jazz! As of this date of January 23rd (Django’s birthday!), a quick Google search on the term “Gypsy Jazz” leads us to many pages (from Wikipedia, to the website of the Montreal International Jazz Festival, to various reputable international news organizations, etc.) with inaccurate information as to the history of Gypsy Jazz.

Many articles have been written about it, and many myths have been perpetuated as to the origins of Gypsy Jazz. Since the early 2000s, there has been a global surge in the popularity of Gypsy Jazz and the music of Django Reinhardt. This version may differ in that it may have been updated since its original publication. This article originally appeared on ’s February 2015 blog.

Django band in a box