If Django Reinhardt’s “Gypsy Swing” legacy has a worldwide following today – with even mass audiences enjoying its renaissance – we shouldn’t overlook the years when the style went into decline after the death of Django, its Great Architect, in 1953. During years of oblivion, Django’s music was handed down (by ear!) in trailer-parks & caravans, played at gypsy-gatherings in Saint-Ouen, and swapped by collectors of rare records. But it’s no exaggeration to say that a few people managed to save the music from darkness by ensuring its practise amongst musicians from outside that small gypsy circle. And it’s equally unpretentious to say that Romane was one of the pioneering happy few in the course of this music’s revival. Today, Fremeaux & Associes celebrates Romane‘s importance with this first volume of a complete set of his recordings; entitled Swing for Ninine, it is devoted to... the Renaissance! Benjamin GOLDENSTEIN & Patrick FReMEAUX