Django: World's Greatest Jazz Guitarist

"When I think about the best guitar players ever, the first name that comes to mind is Django Reinhardt," says the great Willie Nelson. Django was born into a poor, musical gypsy family in 1910. He quickly learned to play the guitar and was called a prodigy and "Gypsy Genius." Then, one night a candle tips over and the his house is consumed by flame. He is covered in burns. Then, covered in bandages for months and months, Django lies in the hospital with doctors shaking their heads. On his own he picks up the guitar and teaaches himself a whole new way of playing music. Now the Gypsy Genius is playing gypsy jazz guitar and he goes on to play throughout World War II and then comes to the United States to solo with Duke Ellington and his orchestra at Carnegie Hall in 1946. This is the Schneider Award winner for elementarylevel in 2010.