One of today's finest Gypsy jazz guitarists, Christian Escoudé was born in France in 1947. His father had a great love for Django Reinhardt, which in turn deeply influenced his son. He became a musician at 15 and quickly developed his melodic sensibilities by mixing rock with Gypsy influences. In 1976, he was awarded the Prix Django-Reinhardt by L'Académie du Jazz. Throughout his career, Escoudé has collaborated and performed with some of jazz's greatest artists, including Charlie Haden, Stan Getz, Bill Evans, and Freddie Hubbard. Always true to his roots, he released the jazz-fusion single A Suite for Gypsies (1988) in memory of Gypsy children who died in Nazi camps and has regularly teamed up with both Babik and David Reinhardt in various tributes to Django.