Riffing on the remarkable Django Reinhardt

Arguably the greatest jazz guitar player ever, Django Reinhardt is also one of the most outlandish characters in the history of the music. Perhaps best known to many Americans as the musical obsession of Sean Penn's character in Woody Allen's "Sweet and Lowdown," Django was an illiterate Parisian gypsy with a crippled left hand who nonetheless was the first and most significant jazz talent to emerge from Europe. He reinvented the acoustic guitar as a soloing instrument of unlimited expressive potential and had a profound influence on guitarists such as Charlie Christian, Les Paul, Chet Atkins and Jerry Garcia.

Django's recordings -- particularly those made in the 1930s with violinist Stephane Grappelli -- continue to seduce listeners with their intimate, exotic charm and freewheeling swing. Brilliant, handsome, charming, flamboyant, unreliable and infuriating to those who worked with him, Django exemplified the myth of the bohemian artist, and it's high time for a major biography about him. Django died in 1953 at the age of 43. Until now, we have had to make do with "Django Reinhardt," Charles Delaunay's slim collection of reminiscences published in English in 1961. Although Delaunay's study is delightful and indispensable, a major artist like Django deserves a more substantial biography. At last it is here.

Michael Dregni's excellent "Django: The Life and Music of a Gypsy Legend" attempts to separate the man from the myth that has grown around him. Dregni has done valuable research, interviewing surviving musicians, relatives and friends of Django and unearthing significant unpublished material. He borrows freely from his predecessor's book but fleshes out his subject. Dregni's story is rich in the characters, context and setting that Delaunay took for granted -- including Delaunay's own pivotal role in Django's career as a promoter and producer. As a musician, Dregni is able to provide the musical insight and analysis essential to good jazz biography. At nearly twice the length of Delaunay's account, Dregni's is in many ways the book jazz enthusiasts have been waiting for.