A cheerful, compact A section conceals a bridge with much darker and more remote colours. The contrast makes Belleville useful for studying how to preserve a melodic idea while the harmony changes character.
If you study one thing
Hear and sing the bridge’s changing thirds.
Studio Harcourt / Wikimedia Commons France · 1944 · Photo credits
Chart keyD major
Form32 bars, AABA
FeelSwing
Meter4/4
MusicDjango Reinhardt
Guide coverage12 / 12 sections present
Owner content reviewed — 2026-10-04T16:09:18Z by admin. Coverage measures presence, not accuracy. Content review does not certify rights or musical perfection.
See what is here and what is missing
✓ Recording evidence
✓ Key & form
✓ Chart
✓ History
✓ Playing notes
✓ Practice plan
✓ Backing track
✓ Django recording
✓ Django solo study aid
✓ Photograph
✓ Sources
✓ Difficulty
Django's Recordings
Django recordings for this tune. Uploader dates and take labels remain source claims; only an evidenced exact association enables a row’s Listen control.
7 historical recording entries · source text preserved
Entry
Year
Recording / session / release evidence
Listen
01
1942
Belleville, 31/3/42, OSW 265-1 ,"Fremeaux FA 311, Classics 877, Jazz Time 799991-2, RDC 40032, Mosaic MD6-190(6 CD Set).","Same date - Paris - QHCF - Hubert Rostaing (cl), Dajngo Reinhardt, Eugene Vees (g), Emmanuel Soudieux (b), Andre Jourdan (d)"
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02
1943
Belleville, 12/3/43, OSW 330-1 ,"Fremeaux FA 312, Classics 905, Jazz Time 799991-2, HEP 1041, EMI 746 5012, EMI 780671-2", - Paris - Django Reinhardt et Son Orchestre
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03
1945
Belleville, 26/10/45, "Fremeaux FA 312, Jass JCD 628, Vogue 228E 6004, Vogue 668003", - Paris - Django Reinhardt and the A.T.C. Band - AFN Brodcast
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04
1945
Belleville, 8/12/45, "Fremeaux FA 312, Jass JCD 628, Vogue 228E 6005", - Paris - Django Reinhardt and the A.T.C. Band - NBC Brodcast
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05
1946
Belleville, 1/2/46, DR 10027-2,"Fremeaux FA 313, Classics 945, Verve 516 931-2", - London
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06
1947
Belleville, 8-13/11/47, "Fremeaux FA 315, Vogue 228E 6007, Vogue 670205, Legacy 411(""Belltown""!!)"," - Paris - Souvenirs de Django Reinhardt - Django Reinhardt (elg), Gerard Leveque (cl), Eugene Vees (g), Emmanuel Soudieux (b), Andre Jourdan (d)"
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07
1951
Belleville, 1951 , 7 TLA 1586 ,"Jazz Time 789952-2, RCA 74321 237692",- Paris - Film Soundtrack - Django Reinhardt (g solo)
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A dash means no video has been associated with this exact historical recording. Tune-level listening resources remain available above.
History & Listening
The legacy page lists seven recording entries spanning 1942–1951, beginning with OSW 265-1. Several personnel settings are represented. The title refers to Belleville, but a specific story about Django’s intent is not established by those session entries.
Tune details
Music: Django Reinhardt
Documented in archive: 1942
Original key: Not established
Study level: Advanced bridge navigation
Melody & head
Keep the repeated A motif buoyant and separated.
Sing the bridge before substituting any of its chords.
Listening task: Keep the repeated A motif buoyant and separated. Count the head before comparing solo choruses.
Session evidence
Belleville, 31/3/42, OSW 265-1 ,"Fremeaux FA 311, Classics 877, Jazz Time 799991-2, RDC 40032, Mosaic MD6-190(6 CD Set).","Same date - Paris - QHCF - Hubert Rostaing (cl), Dajngo Reinhardt, Eugene Vees (g), Emmanuel Soudieux (b), Andre Jourdan (d)"
Count its form and check its key before joining in. D-major turnaround figures dominate the A sections. The bridge opens in G minor, returns toward D, then explores F♯-centred harmony before A7 brings back D. The old chart’s bare F♯ symbols need comparison with the chosen arrangement.
Chart & Form
D-major turnaround figures dominate the A sections. The bridge opens in G minor, returns toward D, then explores F♯-centred harmony before A7 brings back D. The old chart’s bare F♯ symbols need comparison with the chosen arrangement.
Chord symbols follow the inherited Djangopedia chart. Slashes are rhythmic marks; chord quality and turnaround choices may differ from the backing track. This is a chord reference, not a melody transcription.
Highest displayed view count among matching backing-track videos returned by relevance and view-count YouTube searches. Not a complete platform-wide ranking.
Performed studies, transcriptions, TAB, notation and lessons for studying Django’s solo. Resources are described by their creator; inclusion does not certify note-for-note accuracy.
DjangoKOR · source-described; accuracy not independently verified
Creator presents a study of Django’s recorded solo. Use it alongside the original recording; exact transcription accuracy has not been independently reviewed.
Checked 2026-10-02
Similar tunes
Follow a shared key, a harmonic idea or a familiar form. Keys refer to this site’s chart editions; other recordings may use a different key.
Chosen as a view of Django from 1944, to place the study beside his changing performing life. The closest dated recording entry here is 1943. This is an editorial pairing; the photograph is not claimed to depict a performance or session of this tune.
A formal Studio Harcourt portrait. The credited studio and year come from the linked file record. The portrait is not a recording-session photograph.
Make B♭ audible when G minor appears; it is a real change of colour from D major.
Distinguish A♯ over F♯ major from A natural if a minor reading is chosen.
Resolve C♯ on A7 into the final D-major statement.
Pitch choices
D-major chord tones through A sections.
Local minor and major arpeggios through the bridge, selected from the agreed chord qualities.
Make a bridge-only loop and play roots followed by thirds. Then carry a short rhythmic cell through the whole bridge while changing only its pitch content.
Comping & voicings
Play the repeated A-section pattern with consistent dynamics. Reduce density on the bridge so the harmonic changes remain intelligible.
Voicing note sets
D6: D–F♯–B; Em7: E–G–D; A7: A–C♯–G.
Gm: G–B♭–D; F♯ major: F♯–A♯–C♯, when that reading matches the melody.
Keep the accompaniment clear
Start with a quiet, even pulse. Leave an entire phrase unfilled and listen to how the melody breathes.
Assuming the bridge remains in D major because the A sections are so familiar.
Adding dense extensions that obscure the melody or duplicate the pianist’s register.
Practice room
Start at 110–130; build toward 180–220 bpm
Your assignment
Make a bridge-only loop and play roots followed by thirds. Then carry a short rhythmic cell through the whole bridge while changing only its pitch content.
Loop these changes
D → passing diminished → Em → A7
Gm → D
F♯-area harmony → A7 → D
Metronome
Start below the suggested tempo. First hear four quarter-note clicks, then halve the click rate and place clicks on beats 2 and 4. Keep the same phrase length.
Transposition
Move D → passing diminished → Em → A7 up one whole step by naming each chord’s function before finding a guitar shape.
Return to D major and play the original melody without the chart.
At the session
Belleville — D major; 32 bars, AABA. Agree the tempo, pickup, solo order and ending before the count.
Start together
Use a four-bar D turnaround at the actual performance tempo.
Finish together
Cue a final head chorus, then hold D rather than launching the repeated turnaround again.
Agree on bridge chord qualities and substitutions before starting; this is a chart-comparison tune.
Assuming the bridge remains in D major because the A sections are so familiar.
Arranging the tune
Solo guitar
A sparse bridge with melody and bass is clearer than attempting every passing chord in a thick chord-melody texture.
Trio or larger group
Agree on bridge chord qualities and substitutions before starting; this is a chart-comparison tune.
Vocal considerations
This guide studies an instrumental arrangement. Any later lyric adaptation requires its own credit and chosen key.
Further study
Compare the A-section diminished passing chord with a ii–V-only reduction. Preserve the head’s semitone movement when simplifying.
Chord symbols follow the inherited Djangopedia chart. Slashes are rhythmic marks; chord quality and turnaround choices may differ from the backing track. This is a chord reference, not a melody transcription.
Compare the session evidence below before attributing one arrangement to every Django performance. The legacy page lists seven recording entries spanning 1942–1951, beginning with OSW 265-1. Several personnel settings are represented. The title refers to Belleville, but a specific story about Django’s intent is not established by those session entries.
This player guide combines inherited recording evidence and editorial study notes. Musical study notes are editorial suggestions; compare them with the recording.
BellevilleBiréli Lagrène Gipsy Project · Biréli Lagrène2001 · Gipsy Project — artist releaseGipsy Project ensemble recording with Hono Winterstein, Diego Imbert, Florin Niculescu and Holzmano Lagrène; year denotes the release.✓ Featured
Belleville | Joscho Stephan Trio | Django Reinhardt Jazz ClassicJoscho Stephan, Sven Jungbeck and Volker Kamp · Joscho StephanGypsy jazz trioShort complete theme–solo–theme trio performance. A teaching advertisement follows at 2:10; the musical performance itself is not a lesson.Select performance
Django Reinhardt Belleville - Hot Club du NaxHot Club du NaxHot Club ensembleLiving-room ensemble performance of Django’s composition, published by the band.Select performance
Belleville - Hot Cafe - Gypsy Jazz at the Wellington Jazz Club (NZ)Hot Café · Nick GranvilleWellington Jazz Club, New ZealandNew Zealand Gypsy jazz ensemble with Leigh Jackson, Nick Granville, Nick Tipping and Nik Brown.Select performance