Owner content reviewed — 2026-10-15T13:12:29Z 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
✓ Illustration
✓ 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
1939
HCQ Strut, 25/8/39, DR 3862-1 ,"Fremeaux FA 309, Classics 813, JSP 342, Verve 516 931-2, Music Memoria 87949, Jazz Archives 157222"," - London - QHCF - Stephane Grappelly (v,p), Django Reinhardt, Joseph Reinhardt, Eugene Vees (g), Emmanuel Soudieux (b), Beryl Davis (vo)"
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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
H.C.Q. Strut evokes the small-string-ensemble sound of the Hot Club quintet. The archive and Django in June teaching page identify a London recording on 25 August 1939, shortly before the war disrupted the group's work. The inherited row includes session-level personnel text; it should not be read as proof that every listed musician or vocalist is audible on this instrumental. The tune's short gestures invite clean, conversational exchanges between lead instruments.
Tune details
Music: Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Grappelli
Documented in archive: 1939
Original key: Not established
Study level: Intermediate; crisp articulation at brisk tempo
Melody & head
Notice how the lead phrases leave room for the ensemble's rhythmic response.
Mistaking session-level vocal credits for a vocal performance on this track.
The G-major study chart moves through dominant A7 and D7 before returning to G. Its bridge visits C and a chromatic C♯ diminished connection. Hear the moving voice within those shapes rather than treating the diminished chord as a separate tonal center. Check the video key before playing with the chart.
Chart & Form
The G-major study chart moves through dominant A7 and D7 before returning to G. Its bridge visits C and a chromatic C♯ diminished connection. Hear the moving voice within those shapes rather than treating the diminished chord as a separate tonal center.
Inherited chart retained. The new solo resource is explicitly presented by its creator as a transcription; accuracy remains open to owner musical review.
HCQ Strut (160 bpm) - Gypsy jazz Backing track / Jazz manouche
Guitare Improvisation
Swing · 160 BPM · 5m24s · Video available when checked; creator-described attribution.
Creator-described gypsy-jazz play-along. Check the key and full arrangement before joining in; the guide chart may use another key. Tempo is the creator’s stated value.
Follow C → C♯ → D as a compact voice-leading exercise.
Keep B natural distinct from the blues B♭ when the tonic is clearly major.
Pitch choices
Begin with the named chord tones. Add passing notes only after the melody and cadence are secure.
Alternate a two-bar question with a two-bar answer, keeping each phrase under six notes. Then practice the bridge's chromatic inner voice in two positions.
Comping & voicings
Use short, buoyant quarter notes with enough release for the violin or guitar melody. Avoid adding a heavy accent on every beat at fast tempos.
Voicing note sets
G6: G–B–D–E; C6: C–E–G–A.
A7: A–C♯–G; D7: D–F♯–C; C♯dim7: C♯–E–G–B♭.
Keep the accompaniment clear
First establish an even pulse; add rhythmic variation only when the melody leaves space.
Mistaking session-level vocal credits for a vocal performance on this track.
Practice room
Start at 100–120; explore 160–200 bpm
Your assignment
Alternate a two-bar question with a two-bar answer, keeping each phrase under six notes. Then practice the bridge's chromatic inner voice in two positions.
Loop these changes
A7 → D7 → G
C → C♯dim7 → G/D
Metronome
Count quarter notes first. Then place the click on beats 2 and 4 at half the click rate, keeping the phrase length unchanged.
Transposition
Move one short cadence to a nearby key by naming its chord tones, then return to the chosen study key.
At the session
G major (inherited chart); 32-bar AABA study form. Agree the arrangement, pickup and ending before counting in.
Start together
Count a clear tempo and use the final cadence of the agreed arrangement.
Finish together
Cue the final tonic together; agree any tag before starting.
Mistaking session-level vocal credits for a vocal performance on this track.
Mistaking session-level vocal credits for a vocal performance on this track.
Arranging the tune
Solo guitar
Keep the melody uppermost and begin with a single bass note under each harmony. G6: G–B–D–E; C6: C–E–G–A.
Trio or larger group
Use short, buoyant quarter notes with enough release for the violin or guitar melody. Avoid adding a heavy accent on every beat at fast tempos.
Vocal considerations
No vocal arrangement is prescribed; use the instrumental melody as the phrasing reference.
This player guide combines inherited recording evidence and editorial study notes. Musical study notes are editorial suggestions; compare them with the recording.
Reinhardt/Grappelli composer credit; no notation copied.
Illustration credit & provenance
Original Djangopedia illustration · AI-assisted, 2026
Original AI-assisted editorial artwork inspired by the tune’s mood. It does not depict a documented historical event.
Generated with the native image-generation tool on 2026-10-15; original editorial artwork, not a historical photograph.
Prompt: Use case: illustration-story. Create one original illustration for a Djangopedia jazz tune guide. High-resolution landscape 3:2, 1536x1024 or larger. Shared collection art direction: original mid-century modern graphic shapes, Art Deco geometry, expressive angular silhouettes, flat color blocks, confident outlines and subtle screenprint grain, imaginary 1930s–1950s atmosphere. Not an imitation of any artist. No text, logos, watermark or historical documentary claims. Keep faces and focal objects within generous crop-safe margins. A jaunty imaginary small string ensemble on an Art Deco bandstand: angular violinist upright, acoustic guitarist at a different angle, double bassist, lively short interlocking shapes like musical replies. Mustard, sage, charcoal, cream. Full instruments and expressive hands. Light playful swagger.
Research & rights notes
Exact composition year remains unconfirmed; 1939 is the documented recording year.
Inherited personnel text may contain session-level carryover.
Original composition/recording rights not independently cleared. Video metadata and musical suitability are separate checks.
HCQ Strut (160 bpm) - Gypsy jazz Backing track / Jazz manoucheGuitare ImprovisationSwing · 160 BPM · 5m24s · Video available when checked; creator-described attribution.Creator-described gypsy-jazz play-along. Check the key and full arrangement before joining in; the guide chart may use another key. Tempo is the creator’s stated value.✓ Featured
HCQ STRUT (103BPM) THE STEPHANE WREMBEL BAND - PLAY ALONG SERIESStephane WrembelSwing · 103 BPM · 3m24s · Video available when checked; creator-described attribution.Creator-described gypsy-jazz play-along. Check the key and full arrangement before joining in; the guide chart may use another key. Tempo is the creator’s stated value.Select video
"HCQ Strut" - Isabel Smith and Luca PinoIsabel SmithVideo available when checked; creator-described attribution.Performer attribution follows the video title and channel description. Proposed listening selection; no popularity ranking implied.✓ Featured
"H.C.Q. STRUT": LE JAZZ HOT at MONTEREY (3.8.20)swingyoucatsVideo available when checked; creator-described attribution.Performer attribution follows the video title and channel description. Proposed listening selection; no popularity ranking implied.Select video