“Nuages” is an instrumental jazz composition by guitarist Django Reinhardt, and one of his best-known works. First recorded by the Quintette du Hot Club de France with clarinetist Alix Combelle in 1940, it was issued in France as a 78 RPM single backed with “Les Yeux Noirs.” Reinhardt recorded at least thirteen versions of the piece, which became a jazz standard and a central work of the gypsy swing repertoire.
The 1940 recordings are in F major and feature a clarinet-led melody. Dissatisfied with the first take, Reinhardt added a second clarinet for the December 1940 version, creating the arrangement for which the tune is particularly renowned. Later versions include a 1946 recording in G major and a 1953 session with Maurice Vander on piano, Pierre Michelot on bass, and Jean-Louis Viale on drums, with Reinhardt playing electric guitar. Originally instrumental, “Nuages,” meaning “Clouds,” later received French and English lyrics, including the English adaptation “It’s the Bluest Kind of Blues.”
