The Quintette du Hot Club de France was a French jazz group founded in Paris, France, in 1934 by guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stéphane Grappelli. The ensemble evolved from informal backstage jam sessions at the Hôtel Claridge, where Reinhardt and Grappelli played in a band led by bassist Louis Vola. The group popularized the gypsy jazz style and featured an all-strings lineup, with Reinhardt, Grappelli, Vola, and rhythm guitarists Roger Chaput and Joseph Reinhardt. Critic Thom Jurek described them as "one of the most original bands in the history of recorded jazz." The group began its recording career in November 1934, releasing its first titles on the Odeon label under the name Delaunay's Jazz. In 1937, the group was hired by singer Adelaide Hall as a house band for her Montmartre nightclub, La Grosse Pomme. When World War II began in September 1939, the group was touring England; Reinhardt returned to France, while Grappelli remained in England, causing a temporary split. During the war, Reinhardt continued using the name with other musicians, recording his famous composition Nuages (1940). Post-war, Reinhardt and Grappelli reunited intermittently under the quintet banner until about 1948. Archival releases of their work include the albums Djangology (1961) and Paris 1945 (1968).
