Musician. He was a 20th century French jazz violinist, who was considered the grandfather of jazz violinists. Stephane Grappelli was born on January 26, 1908, in Paris, where by the age of 15 he was playing the violin in the streets, at restaurants, and with a theater pit band. Born the son of an Italian nobleman, his mother died when he was five years old. His father left him with acclaimed dancer, Isadora Duncan, until Duncan left France to return to the United States. At that point, his father left him in an orphanage to live a hard life that could only be found in a Charles Dickens' novel. By 1918 he and his father had moved to Barbès, a musical community in Paris. Although he actually began violin lessons at age twelve, he was trained at the Paris Conservatory, graduating with a medal in 1920. In 1934, at a café in southern France, he encountered the Belgian gypsy guitarist, Django Reinhardt, becoming a duet. Within a few months, the two had added two rhythm guitarists and a bass player to form the "Quintet of the Hot Club of France." The group was an instantaneous sensation, but disbanded in 1939. Although Reinhardt had burned his left hand severely in a caravan fire when he was 18, leaving two fingers badly scarred with limited movement, he was a brilliant guitarist. Grappelli shared with Reinhardt a talent for conveying a great variety of moods and emotions with his instrument. They co-wrote much of the material they played, such as "Minor Swing" in 1937, "Swing 39" in 1939 and "Djangology" in 1936, which was re-released in 2005. Although his partner Reinhardt died in 1953, his career continued, having a long, prolific career performing past his 88th birthday, and leaving behind over 100 recordings, including collaborations with violinist Sir Yehudi Menuhin and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. He died in Paris on December 1, 1997.