"Nuages" () is one of the best-known compositions by

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most ...

. He recorded at least thirteen versions of the tune, which is a jazz standard and a mainstay of the gypsy swing repertoire. English and French

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a " libretto" and their writer, ...

have been added to the piece which was originally an

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...

work. The title translated into English is "Clouds", but the adaptation with English lyrics is titled "It's the Bluest Kind of Blues". In 1940, Django made two recordings of Nuages in F major, and with a clarinet melody. (Some later recordings are in G major, perhaps to suit the violin.) Unhappy with the first recording, Reinhardt added a second clarinet, creating a renowned arrangement for the December 1940 recording. Reinhardt's 1946 recording (as can be heard in the sample) is in the key of G major. A final recording was made at a 1953 session just before he died, where we hear Django with only Maurice Vander on piano, Pierre Michelot on bass, and Jean-Louis Viale on drums. He was using an electric guitar by this time. "Nuages" was released by Django Reinhardt and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France on the French Swing label as a 78-RPM single in 1940. The flip side is "Les Yeux Noirs".

Other recordings

Sidney Bechet Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Armstrong. His erratic tempe ...

– ''Rendez-vous avec Sidney Bechet et Andre Reweliotty'' (1953) *

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

– used the music with new lyrics that he wrote for a song titled "All for You" on ''

The Art of Romance ''The Art of Romance'' is an album by Tony Bennett, released in 2004, that won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. Bennett became a songwriter for the first time in his long career by writing the lyrics for the song "All for You ...

'' (2004) *

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

– ''Elegy in Blue'' (1994) * Lucienne Delyle – vocal version of "Nuages" with French lyrics by Jacques Larue (1942) *

Denny Dennis Denny Dennis (1 November 1913 in Derby – 2 November 1993 in Barrow-in-Furness) was a British romantic vocalist during the 1930s to the 1950s, when British dance bands were at the peak of their popularity. He was a band singer, a solo recording s ...

with the Stanley Black Orchestra – vocal version "It's the Bluest Kind of Blues My Baby Sings" with English lyrics by Spencer Williams (1942) *

Paul Desmond Paul Desmond (born Paul Emil Breitenfeld; November 25, 1924 – May 30, 1977) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer, best known for his work with the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for composing that group's biggest hit, " Take Five". He ...

with

Ed Bickert Edward Isaac Bickert, (November 29, 1932 – February 28, 2019) was a Canadian guitarist who played mainstream jazz and swing music. Bickert worked professionally from the mid-1950s to 2000, mainly in the Toronto area. His international reputat ...

– '' Pure Desmond'' (1974) * Peggy Lee with

Dave Barbour David Michael Barbour (May 28, 1912 – December 11, 1965) was an American jazz guitarist. He was married to singer Peggy Lee and was her co-writer, accompanist, and bandleader. Biography Barbour was born in Long Island, New York, United States ...

and His Orchestra – vocal version "It's the Bluest Kind of Blues" (1946, not issued until 2000) *

Monica Lewis Monica Lewis (born May Lewis; May 5, 1922 – June 12, 2015) was an American jazz singer and film actress. Lewis was the longtime voice of Chiquita Banana in that company's animated ad campaign, beginning in 1947. Biography Early life Lewis was ...

– vocal version titled "It's the Bluest Kind of Blues" (1947) * Joe Pass (1964)"Nuages". Second Hand Songs.
/ref> * Oscar Peterson and

Stephane Grappelli Stephane may refer to: * Stéphane, a French given name * Stephane (Ancient Greece), a vestment in ancient Greece * Stephane (Paphlagonia) Stephane ( grc, Στεφάνη) was a small port town on the coast of ancient Paphlagonia, according to Arr ...

– ''Skol'' (1979) *

Susannah McCorkle Susannah McCorkle (January 1, 1946 – May 19, 2001) was an American jazz singer. Life and career A native of Berkeley, California, McCorkle studied Italian literature at the University of California at Berkeley before dropping out to move to ...

- in both French and English on her album " From Broken Hearts to Blue Skies" * Pino Daniele - vocal version in his album – ''Passi d'autore'' (2004) * Pomplamoose - as part of their En Français collaboration with John Tegmeyer(2020) * Manhattan Transfer - on their album Swing (1997) - "Clouds" - with vocal arrangement by Gene Puerling and

vocalese Vocalese is a style of jazz singing in which words are added to an instrumental soloist's improvisation. Definition Vocalese uses recognizable lyrics that are sung to pre-existing instrumental solos, as opposed to scat singing, which uses nonsen ...

lyrics by

Jon Hendricks John Carl Hendricks (September 16, 1921 – November 22, 2017), known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and re ...

- guest appearances by the Rosenberg Trio and

Stéphane Grappelli Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997, born Stefano Grappelli) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the fi ...

(a founding member of Django's Quintette du Hot Club de France - one of Grappelli's last recordings)

References

{{Authority control Cloud in culture Songs about weather Instrumentals Jazz compositions 1940s jazz standards 1940 songs Swing music Tony Bennett songs Jazz compositions in G major