Henri "Lousson" Reinhardt

Django Reinhardt’s first son was Henri “Lousson” (in french means “bear cub”. He was born in 1929. His mother was Florine Mayer. She married Django in 1927 by the gypsy custom, so the marriage was not under french laws, so he received the surname Baumgartner, from Mayer’s second husband.

Henri Lousson was a guitarist too, he played live between the 1950s and 1960s and never recorded commercially except for an unreleased 1960s studio recording from Paris with violinist Vivian Villerstein.

He was described as a very shy and private person. His musical career was mostly in bars in Paris during the 60s. He was frequently accompanied by fellow guitarist Jean-Marie Pallen, and played in different Django Reinhardt memorial festivals, Samois-sur-Seine.

Private recordings exist from a 1966 performance in Paris. He is seen at the start and end of the 1959 French film “Mon pote le gitan” / “Les Pittuiti’s” performing “Les Deux Guitares” with Eugène Vées,[5] and also appears briefly in a 1978 Sten Bramsen documentary Django made for Danish television.

Henri Lousson’s style was described as a “modern django” version. With influences of Wes Montgomery and Jim Hall.

Henri Lousson died in 1992 and was buried near Django Reinhardt and Joseph Reinhardt at Samois Sur Seine, France.