Stéphane Grappelli

French jazz violinist, pianist, saxophonist and accordionist. Born January 26, 1908 in Paris, died December 1, 1997 there. He was born Stéfano Grappelli but his first name was gallicized to Stéphane. He was billed as Stéphane Grappelly at first, but the last name spelling on recordings changed to Grappelli in the 1960s, although he still signed his name as "Grappelly." One of the greatest pre-bop jazz violinists, also an occasional pianist, Grappelli is known for his legendary collaboration with Django Reinhardt in the '30s and '40s in their Quintette du Hot Club de France. The group disbanded at the beginning of World War 2; Grappelli went to London while Reinhardt stayed in France. In England, he played with pianist George Shearing. After the war, he appeared on hundreds of recordings including sessions with Oscar Peterson, Jean-Luc Ponty, Gary Burton and many others, including a few more recordings with Django Reinhardt. He continued playing worldwide until his death at the age of 89.