Lousson reinhardt biography definition

French gypsy jazz guitarist

Henri Baumgartner (11 December 1929–8 September 1992), known professionally as Lousson Reinhardt, was a French gypsy jazz guitarist and the first son of Django Reinhardt by his first wife, Florine Mayer.

Biography

Django Reinhardt married Florine Mayer in 1927 according to gypsy custom although their marriage was not registered, and therefore not recognised under French law. Their son Henri, nicknamed "Lousson" from the French "l'ourson" meaning "bear cub", was born in 1929; however, shortly after this the couple separated and Florine remarried, and Henri's birth certificate bore the last name Baumgartner from Mayer's second husband.^[1] Henri/Lousson learned to play guitar from his relatives; he is pictured playing with Django and others in a photograph dating from the mid 1940s^[2] and played rhythm guitar with Django's "Nouveau Quintette" on a tour of Belgium in November-December 1948, of which an official r