A bright, hard-swinging vehicle with long dominant stretches and a decisive final turnaround. The challenge is to keep developing an idea while the harmony waits before moving.
If you study one thing
Develop one idea across the long static chords.
William P. Gottlieb / Library of Congress Aquarium, New York, N.Y. · circa November 1946 · Photo credits
Chart keyA major
Form32-bar chorus; two contrasting 16-bar halves
FeelSwing
Meter4/4
MusicDjango Reinhardt, Stéphane Grappelli
Guide coverage12 / 12 sections present
Owner content reviewed — 2026-10-04T21:21:33Z 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.
1 historical recording entries · source text preserved
Entry
Year
Recording / session / release evidence
Listen
01
1946
Django's Tiger,OEF 26-1 ,"Fremeaux FA 313, Classics 945, Jazz Time 789103, Blue Note 7243837138-2, Mosaic MD6-190(6 CD Set).","31/1/46 - London - ""QHCF"" - Stephane Grappelly (v), Django Reinhardt, Jack Llewellyn, Allan Hodgkiss (g), Coleridge Goode (b)"
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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 session entry is London, 31 January 1946, matrix OEF 26-1, during Django’s postwar reunion with Grappelli. Its extended A-major opening and changing second half offer a clear exercise in building intensity across a chorus.
Tune details
Music: Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Grappelli
Documented in archive: 1946
Original key: Not established
Study level: Intermediate to advanced
Melody & head
Keep the head’s repeated gestures springy, not mechanically accented.
Identify the second half before soloing so the long opening does not obscure the form.
Listening task: Keep the head’s repeated gestures springy, not mechanically accented. Count the head before comparing solo choruses.
Session evidence
Django's Tiger,OEF 26-1 ,"Fremeaux FA 313, Classics 945, Jazz Time 789103, Blue Note 7243837138-2, Mosaic MD6-190(6 CD Set).","31/1/46 - London - ""QHCF"" - Stephane Grappelly (v), Django Reinhardt, Jack Llewellyn, Allan Hodgkiss (g), Coleridge Goode (b)"
Count its form and check its key before joining in. The first half moves from tonic A to E7, with F7 as a chromatic neighbour. The second half reaches D through A7, then returns through a diminished link and F♯7–B7–E7.
Chart & Form
The first half moves from tonic A to E7, with F7 as a chromatic neighbour. The second half reaches D through A7, then returns through a diminished link and F♯7–B7–E7.
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.
Alex Farran Guitar · 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.
Related chord movement
No sufficiently supported harmonic comparison has been added yet.
Chosen for a chronological connection: the photograph’s attributed date overlaps 1946, a year represented in this tune’s recording entries. This is an editorial pairing; the photograph is not claimed to depict a performance or session of this tune.
Part of William P. Gottlieb’s documented Aquarium photographs in New York, circa November 1946. The catalogue supplies the location and approximate date; this is not evidence of a particular tune being played.
On E7, sustain G♯ as the chord’s identifying third.
Treat the F7 colour as a half-step displacement and resolve it deliberately.
Follow D→D♯→E through D major, D♯ diminished and A major; E is the fifth of A.
Pitch choices
A-major and A6 arpeggios at home.
E7 arpeggios with chromatic neighbours; chord tones through F♯7–B7–E7.
Use one rhythmic motif over the first 16 bars, changing only its chord tones. Increase density in the second half, then leave space before the final cadence.
Comping & voicings
Let the repeated A and E7 bars swing without changing voicing every beat. Make the move to D in the second half clear with a fresh register.
Voicing note sets
A6: A–C♯–F♯; E7: E–G♯–D.
F♯7: F♯–A♯–E; B7: B–D♯–A.
Keep the accompaniment clear
Start with a quiet, even pulse. Leave an entire phrase unfilled and listen to how the melody breathes.
Running out of ideas on the long tonic and dominant spans, then rushing the turnaround.
Adding dense extensions that obscure the melody or duplicate the pianist’s register.
Practice room
Start at 120–150; build toward 190–230 bpm
Your assignment
Use one rhythmic motif over the first 16 bars, changing only its chord tones. Increase density in the second half, then leave space before the final cadence.
Loop these changes
E7 → F7 → E7
D → D♯ diminished → A
F♯7 → B7 → E7 → A
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 E7 → F7 → E7 up one whole step by naming each chord’s function before finding a guitar shape.
Return to A major and play the original melody without the chart.
At the session
Django's Tiger — A major; 32-bar chorus; two contrasting 16-bar halves. Agree the tempo, pickup, solo order and ending before the count.
Start together
Count into the head or use four bars of A at the agreed tempo.
Finish together
Signal the last cadence and finish on A6; decide whether the last E7 turnaround is dropped.
At fast tempos, one strong rhythm part is preferable to conflicting accents from multiple accompanists.
Running out of ideas on the long tonic and dominant spans, then rushing the turnaround.
Arranging the tune
Solo guitar
Use a bass note at each harmonic change and short melody responses; do not attempt to imitate every rhythm-guitar stroke.
Trio or larger group
At fast tempos, one strong rhythm part is preferable to conflicting accents from multiple accompanists.
Vocal considerations
This guide studies an instrumental arrangement. Any later lyric adaptation requires its own credit and chosen key.
Further study
Test a repeated phrase over E7 and a semitone higher over F7. Compare the effect with a voice-led phrase that changes only one or two notes.
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 session entry is London, 31 January 1946, matrix OEF 26-1, during Django’s postwar reunion with Grappelli. Its extended A-major opening and changing second half offer a clear exercise in building intensity across a chorus.
This player guide combines inherited recording evidence and editorial study notes. Musical study notes are editorial suggestions; compare them with the recording.
Jimmy Rosenberg - Django's TigerJimmy Rosenberg · Harry Diplock2007 · Bimhuis Amsterdam; 26 July 2007Live interpretation by Jimmy Rosenberg; proposed first for a representative concert performance.✓ Featured
Stochelo Rosenberg - Django's TigerStochelo Rosenberg · thomasbaggermanFestival Django Reinhardt, SamoisFestival performance; other personnel only as credited by the uploader.Select performance
Matteo Mancuso & Joscho Stephan Trio // Django's TigerMatteo Mancuso & Joscho Stephan Trio · Joscho StephanCollaboration on Joscho Stephan official channelCross-style guest interpretation within a Gypsy Jazz trio setting.Select performance
Django's Tiger // Joscho Stephan Trio (LIVE CLIP)Joscho Stephan Trio · Joscho StephanLive clip, official artist channelIndependent trio concert interpretation; no lesson or backing-only content.Select performance
"Django's Tiger" with Gonzalo BergaraGonzalo Bergara & Adrian Holovaty · Adrian HolovatyGuitar duet on Adrian Holovaty channelA duet alternative with a different ensemble texture.Select performance
Jam Session at Benji Winterstein (1) Samoreau 2023 Django's Tiger (Real Gypsy Swing!!)Benji Winterstein jam session · Daniel Gueli Gypsy Jazz Channel2023 · Samoreau jamInformal festival-camp swing; personnel claims limited to the source description.Select performance
Django's Tiger - MARION & SOBO BAND feat. JOSCHO STEPHAN (Live in Coburg)Marion & Sobo Band feat. Joscho Stephan · Marion & Sobo BandLive in CoburgVocal reinterpretation offers contrast to the instrumental readings.Select performance