The French jazz violinist, born 26 January 1908 in Paris, France, died 1 December 1997 in Paris, France. He was born Stéfano Grappelli but had his first name gallicized to Stéphane. He was billed as Stéphane Grappelly at first, but the last name spelling on recordings changed to Grappelli in the 1960s, although he still signed his name as Grappelly.
One of the greatest violin jazz prebop players (but also an occasional pianist), Stéphane Grappelli is known for his legendary collaboration with Django Reinhardt in the ’30s and ’40s in their Quintette Du Hot Club De France.
The group disbanded when the war broke (Grappelli went in London while Django stayed in France).
In England, he played with pianist George Shearing.
After the war, he appeared on hundreds of recordings including sessions with Oscar Peterson, Jean-Luc Ponty, Gary Burton and countless other great musicians (including few recordings with Django Reinhardt again).
He never stopped playing worldwide until his death at the age of 89.