At the Acoustic Guitar Village, a guitar with an extraordinary history will be on display: the Mogar (Monzino & Garlandini of Milan) played by Django Reinhardt during his stay in Rome in 1950.
This instrument has a long history marked by signatures engraved on the soundboard, including those of Renato Rascel, Carlo Pedersoli (Bud Spencer), drummer Giancarlo Festa and, of course, Django himself.
The story takes us back to 1950, when the gypsy guitarist performed for about twenty days at the Open Gate nightclub in Rome with the Quintette du Hot Club de France, a lineup without Stéphane Grappelli. After breaking his Selmer, Django was loaned this Mogar by its owner and played it throughout the evenings. Before returning it, he carved “D. Reinhardt” with a nail, leaving an indelible mark of his gratitude.
The guitar isn’t just a memento of those evenings: it appears on the cover of album no. 19 of the “Djangologie” series (Pathé Marconi/EMI, 1970s), a true “bible” of his output. The B-side of the album, recorded in Rome in 1950, was recorded entirely with this Mogar, equipped with pickups. The cover images clearly show the signature scratched on the body, making this instrument a unique testimony to the maestro’s time in Italy.
The Mogar will be on display from Friday, September 26th to Sunday, September 28th, in the historic exhibition “Nuages – The Manouche Jazz Guitar,” curated by master luthiers Leonardo Petrucci and Martina Gozzini. This is a unique opportunity to see up close a guitar that was part of Django Reinhardt’s legend.
