A Little Love, a Little Kiss ( Un peu d'amour )

A Little Love, a Little Kiss, originally titled Un peu d'amour, is a romantic waltz composed by Lao Silesu in the early 20th century. The English lyrics were written by Adrian Ross, and the song became widely known through vocal and instrumental recordings in Europe and the United States.

Django Reinhardt recorded A Little Love, a Little Kiss on 26 April 1937 in Paris with the Quintette du Hot Club de France. The session featured Stéphane Grappelli on violin, Django Reinhardt, Pierre “Baro” Ferret and Marcel Bianchi on guitars, and Louis Vola on double bass.

Musical character:
A Little Love, a Little Kiss is an elegant and sentimental waltz with a flowing melody and a distinctly nostalgic atmosphere. Its lyrical theme leaves plenty of space for expressive phrasing, while the three-beat pulse gives the piece a graceful movement that works equally well as a romantic popular song or an instrumental jazz performance.

Connection to Manouche Jazz:
The connection to Manouche Jazz is direct through Django Reinhardt's 1937 recording. Although the composition was not originally written as Gypsy Jazz, Django and the Quintette du Hot Club de France transformed it into an acoustic jazz interpretation built around guitars, violin, and improvisation. It is therefore a good example of how Django incorporated older European popular music into his repertoire.

Interesting facts:

• The original title of the composition is Un peu d'amour, while the English version became known as A Little Love, a Little Kiss.
• The music was written by Lao Silesu, a Sardinian-born composer who spent much of his career in Paris.
• The English lyrics were written by Adrian Ross, and recordings of the song were already being made in the early 1910s.
• Django Reinhardt recorded the piece in Paris on 26 April 1937 with the Quintette du Hot Club de France.
• The same 1937 session also produced recordings including Miss Annabelle Lee and Mystery Pacific, placing the tune firmly within Django's classic pre-war Hot Club period.

A Little Love, a Little Kiss is a beautiful example of Django Reinhardt's ability to take an older romantic melody and reshape it through the language of swing. Its graceful waltz character, lyrical melody, and genuine place in Django's recorded repertoire make it a natural fit within the wider Manouche Jazz tradition.