Occupation(s) Musician Years active 1940s–1980s Died 1992 | Instruments Guitar | |
Birth name Henri Lousson Reinhardt Similar Joseph Reinhardt, Babik Reinhardt, Louis Vola, Sarane Ferret, Pierre Ferret | ||
Lousson reinhardt playing triste melodie
Henri "Lousson" Reinhardt (1929–1992), also known as Henri Baumgartner, was a French gypsy jazz guitarist and the son of Django Reinhardt by his first wife, Florine "Bella" Mayer.
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Lousson reinhardt playing anniversary song
Biography
Reinhardt was raised in the family of his mother's second husband whose surname was Baumgartner. He was known by his French nickname "Lousson," which meant "bear cub". The two families appear to have remained in contact since he reportedly learned to play guitar from Django and played accompaniment for his father on a tour of Belgium in 1948, of which recordings exist. Lousson was frequently on the road in the 1950s and 1960s and never recorded commercially except for an unreleased 1960s studio recording from Paris with violinist Vivian Villerstein. Private recordings exist from a 1966 performance in Paris and he also appears in a 1978 documentary made for Danish television. His musical style was more "American" than Django and in his later years he is pictured using a Gibson ES-175 hollowbody jazz guitar. Lousson had five sons, one of whom (Paul "Navire" Baumgartner) is the father of Dallas Baumgartner, great-grandson of Django, who is one of today's younger generation of gypsy jazz guitarists.