Ah ! La biguine

Ah ! La biguine is a French popular song by J. & P. Bastia, recorded in Paris in 1933. As its title suggests, the song is based on the biguine, a Creole dance and musical style originating in the French Caribbean, particularly Martinique. Biguine became extremely fashionable in Paris during the interwar period and became part of the remarkably diverse dance-music scene of the city.

Django Reinhardt played guitar on a recording of Ah ! La biguine. It was recorded in Paris on 14 March 1933 by L'Orchestre du Théâtre Daunou, directed by Jef de Murel, with Jean Sablon on vocals and Django Reinhardt on guitar. The session took place more than a year before the first recordings of the Quintette du Hot Club de France and offers an interesting glimpse into Django's career before the emergence of the sound that would later make him famous.

Musical character:
Ah ! La biguine belongs to the world of Creole-influenced dance music rather than Gypsy Swing. Its rhythmic character comes from the biguine tradition, combining a lively dance pulse with the polished sound of early-1930s Parisian popular music. Django's role here is particularly interesting because we hear him primarily as an accompanist working within a musical style quite different from the guitar-led jazz recordings for which he would later become known.

Connection to Manouche Jazz:
Ah ! La biguine is not a Manouche Jazz composition. Biguine originated in the French Caribbean and belongs to the Creole musical tradition of the Antilles. Its connection to Manouche Jazz comes through Django Reinhardt himself, who played guitar on the 1933 recording. The track therefore provides a fascinating glimpse into Django's early professional career, when he worked across the diverse dance-music scene of Paris before the classic Hot Club style had fully emerged.

Interesting facts:

• Ah ! La biguine was recorded in Paris on 14 March 1933 by L'Orchestre du Théâtre Daunou.
• Jean Sablon provided the vocals, while Django Reinhardt played guitar on the recording.
• The composition is credited to J. & P. Bastia.
• Biguine originated in the French Caribbean, especially Martinique, and became highly fashionable in Paris during the 1920s and 1930s.
• The recording predates the first sessions of the Quintette du Hot Club de France, making it part of the lesser-known early period of Django's recording career.
• During these years Django worked as an accompanist for singers, orchestras, accordionists, and dance bands, performing music far beyond what would later become known as Gypsy Jazz.

Ah ! La biguine is therefore interesting not because it belongs to the Manouche Jazz repertoire, but because it shows another side of Django Reinhardt. Here we hear the young guitarist participating in the multicultural musical world of early-1930s Paris, where French popular song, jazz, musette, and Caribbean music could exist side by side. Only shortly afterwards, Django would help create the distinctive Hot Club sound that changed European jazz forever.