Django Reinhardt Guitar on Display at the Mahwah Museum

Wednesday marks the first day a new item on display at the Mahwah Museum will be on view for the public. The museum released the following information about the new exhibit:

The Les Paul exhibit in the Mahwah Museum has on display a very rare guitar which was once owned by famed guitarist Django Reinhardt. 

Innovative musician and composer Jean “Django” Reinhardt, known as the first great European jazz guitarist, was the primary force behind the intense, emotional and lyrical “gypsy jazz” style.

Reinhardt, who played with the use of only his index and middle fingers on his left hand, is widely admired and has become an inspiration to many well known musicians.

Les Paul and Mary Ford visited Django in Paris in 1952. After his death in 1953 at age 43, Django’s son Babik gifted Les with Django’s 1950 Selmer Orchestra Model acoustic guitar in gratitude for Les’s kindness to Django’s family. This guitar was treasured by Les, who kept it in his private collection.

The Museum is open weekends and Wednesdays from 1-4 p.m. Admission to the Museum is $5 for non-members, members and children are free. Visit www.mahwahmuseum.org or call 201-512-0099 for more information and for a schedule of upcoming lectures and gallery talks.