Anniversaries are normally a big deal in the world of jazz. They are a great excuse to re-release recordings and stage tribute tours. The Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker and Roy Hargrove 'Directions In Jazz' ensemble that appeared at this year's Hong Kong Arts Festival was assembled to mark what would have been the 75th birthdays of Miles Davis and John Coltrane.
The centenaries of the births of Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong were both marked by tribute concerts and the release of appropriately lavish CD box sets.
So why is so little attention being paid to the 50th anniversary of Django Reinhardt's death? Reinhardt, the Belgian-born gypsy genius who jointly with Charlie Christian established that the guitar could be a serious solo voice in jazz, died on May 16, 1953, in Fontainebleau, France, and you would have expected the anniversary to have generated rather more attention than it has.
It is true that we all prefer celebrating births to commemorating deaths, and January 23, 2010, will mark the centenary of his arrival in an unsuspecting world. Perhaps the fuss is being held in reserve for that, but I confess I am not inclined to wait another seven years for a decent career-spanning CD compilation devoted to the man.
There is a four-CD box set released to mark the anniversary, but it certainly isn't the sort of landmark edition the occasion warrants.
