Babik Reinhardt

Jean-Jacques "Babik" Reinhardt (8 June 1944 – 13 November 2001) was a French guitarist and the younger son of jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. He was christened Jean-Jacques, but generally known by his family nickname, Babik. His elder half-brother Lousson was also a guitarist, but the two grew up in different families and rarely met.

Biography Reinhardt was born in Paris. He learned guitar not from his father, who died when he was nine, but from his uncles, including Nin-Nin (Joseph) and Eugène Vées, and musicians of his own generation such as Vées' sons Loulou and Mitsou. According to writer Fred Sharp, his father initially encouraged him to take up the piano, believing "there would be more work for a pianist than a guitarist". At age 15 he appeared in Jean-Christophe Averty's 1959 film "Hommage a Django Reinhardt", playing rhythm acoustic guitar behind Eugène Vées, Joseph Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli. By age 18, he was playing electric guitar with the French rock and roll group Glenn Jack et ses Glenners, led by Glen Jack (real name Jacques Vérières), and participated on several of their EP releases in 1962.

Drawn more to jazz fusion than gypsy jazz, Babik recorded with fusion pioneer Larry Coryell and French violinist Didier Lockwood in the 1990s.

Discography Joue Sidney Bechet (Vogue, 1967) Sinti Houn Brazil (CBS, 1973) Sur Le Chemin De Mon Pere...Django (Music for Pleasure, 1974) Three of a Kind with Christian Escoudé, Boulou Ferré (JMS, 1985) All Love (RDC, 1988) Nuances (RDC, 1992) Vibration (RDC, 1995) A Night in Conover (RDC, 1998) Babik Joue Django (RDC, 2003)

Films 1959 Hommage a Django Reinhardt (playing rhythm guitar with Eugène Vées, Joseph Reinhardt, Stéphane Grappelli, etc.) 1991 John Jeremy film The Django Legacy (1 track only) 1995 Django: A Jazz Tribute, Biréli Lagrène and Babik Reinhardt live duets (re-released 2005, DVD)