13 Facts About Schnuckenack Reinhardt

Franz "Schnuckenack" Reinhardt was a German gypsy jazz musician, composer and interpreter.

Schnuckenack Reinhardt "made this music accessible to a broad public" and made the most significant contribution to the presentation of gypsy music and jazz in Germany into a concert form.

Schnuckenack Reinhardt was the pioneer of this style of music in Germany and directly or indirectly inspired many of the succeeding generation of gypsy jazz players in that country, as well as preserving on record a great many folkloric and gypsy compositions for future generations.

Schnuckenack Reinhardt's father Peta, a cousin of Django's mother, was a violinist.

On five occasions, Schnuckenack Reinhardt barely escaped shooting by the SS; his younger brother was not so lucky and was deported to Auschwitz where he was killed.

In 1966, during a pilgrimage to Lourdes, Schnuckenack Reinhardt met a young man who would change his life: Sigfried Maeker.

In 1969, Bobby Falta and Daweli Schnuckenack Reinhardt were replaced by Holzmanno Winterstein on rhythm guitar and the then 18-year old guitar virtuoso Hans'che Weiss, who hailed from East Germany, on lead acoustic guitar.

That version of the Schnuckenack Reinhardt Quintett dissolved in May 1972 with the departure of Hans'che Weiss, who went on to form the Hans'che Weiss Quintet with the teenage prodigy Titian "Titi" Winterstein on violin, Holzmanno Winterstein and Ziroli Winterstein on rhythm guitars, Hojok Merstein on double bass as well as himself on solo guitar.

Schnuckenack Reinhardt performed with his "Talal" project, which followed the migration of the Roma from India to Europe.

Schnuckenack Reinhardt never played this instrument for money but it was used solely on religious occasions such as festivals and pilgrimages.

Schnuckenack Reinhardt resided in Sankt Leon-Rot, Baden-Wurttemberg from 1982 until his death in 2006.

The Austrian artist Andre Heller, who was a friend of Schnuckenack Reinhardt, wrote the song "Mein Freund Schnuckenack Reinhardt" together with Ingfried Hoffmann, in which he refers to the life of the musician whose life was affected by both great joy and great sadness.

Schnuckenack Reinhardt died on 15 April 2006 at the age of 85, just after he had announced that he was retiring from performing, given a farewell concert 1 April 2006 in at the Parktheater in Bensheim, Germany, and announced that he was transferring the leadership of his famous Quintett to his brother-in-law Schmitto Kling, leader of the group "Hot Club the Zigan".