When guitarist Bireli Lagrene first debuted as a 13-year-old, he sounded like an exact duplicate of Django Reinhardt.
Since that time, Lagrene has sought to develop his own individuality but most of his fusion and rock-oriented records have been of lesser interest.
For My Favorite Django he returns to the Reinhardt repertoire (all but "Clair de Lune" are Reinhardt compositions) but with a difference.
Keyboardist Koono reharmonized most of the songs drastically, aiming for an orchestral sound with his synthesizer with several pieces utilizing his charts for woodwind and string sections.
However there is a good use of contrast, including a spontaneous guitar/piano duet on a medium-tempo "Blues for Ike." Lagrene sounds more original than he did in his early days and he has a very impressive technique.
Unfortunately the rhythms played by electric bassist Anthony Jackson and drummer Dennis Chambers are unremittingly funky and so unimaginative as to sound as if they were recorded on a different day! One assumes that they were following instructions but, whoever's fault it is, that fatal flaw sinks this effort.
The complete lack of swing from the rhythm duo (even on the up-tempo "I Got Rhythm"-based "Babik") drains most of the joy and purpose from these songs.
Simply put, the original versions by Django Reinhardt are much better.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DaphnéStéphane Grappelli, Django Reinhardt | Biréli Lagrène | Play | 05:51 | 13 MB | 35 MB |
| 2 | BabikDjango Reinhardt | Biréli Lagrène | Play | 05:18 | 12 MB | 32 MB |
| 3 | Melodie au CrepusculeDjango Reinhardt | Biréli Lagrène | Play | 05:24 | 12 MB | 28 MB |
| 4 | Place de BrouckèreDjango Reinhardt | Biréli Lagrène | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 5 | NuagesDjango Reinhardt | Biréli Lagrène | Play | 02:40 | 6 MB | 12 MB |
| 6 | Blues for IkeDjango Reinhardt | Biréli Lagrène | Play | 04:51 | 11 MB | 18 MB |
| 7 | Nuits de Saint Germain des PresDjango Reinhardt | Biréli Lagrène | Play | 04:33 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 8 | Troublant BoleroDjango Reinhardt | Biréli Lagrène | Play | 05:38 | 12 MB | 29 MB |
| 9 | SoloDjango Reinhardt | Biréli Lagrène | Play | 04:01 | 9 MB | 12 MB |
| 10 | Moppin' The Bride | Bireli Lagrene | Play | 05:20 | 12 MB | 28 MB |
| 11 | Clair De Lune | Bireli Lagrene | Play | 04:49 | 11 MB | 26 MB |
| 52 mins | 120 MB | |||||
| 52 mins | 279 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jean Christophe Beaudon | Mastering Engineer |
| 2 | Dennis Chambers | Drums |
| 3 | Tim Conklin | Engineer |
| 4 | Olivier Durin | Coordination |
| 5 | Daniele Feuillerat | Coordination |
| 6 | Stéphane Grappelli | Composer |
| 7 | Anthony Jackson | Bass |
| 8 | Koono | Arranger, Engineer, Piano, Producer, Synthesizer |
| 9 | Joseph Kosma | Composer |
| 10 | Biréli Lagrène | Arranger, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Primary Artist, Producer |
| 11 | Pénélope Monnet | Artwork |
| 12 | Christian Pégand | Coordination, Executive Producer |
| 13 | Malcolm Pollack | Engineer, Mixing |
| 14 | Django Reinhardt | Composer |
| 15 | Christian Rose | Cover Photo, Photography |
| 16 | Mike Viola | Mixing, Mixing Assistant |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |