Success followed with a recording deal at Ultraphone. Although the newly named Quintet of the Hot Club of France was primarily a studio ensemble, it also kept up a busy touring schedule.

Europe, for African American jazz musicians, had become a popular destination where they felt less racial prejudice and more understanding of their work than at home. This gave Django an opportunity to play with many of the greats of the genre. In Amsterdam his path again crossed that of Coleman Hawkins, with whom he jammed at the Palace Theatre to great acclaim. A few months earlier, in Paris, they had recorded a fine version of Honeysuckle Rose [OLA1742-1] with eloquent rhythm work and incisive fill-ins by Reinhardt, behind Hawkins’ mellifluous solo. (ChD p.89/ MDp.133)