Stéphane Grappelli (26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997) was a French jazz violinist who founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt. It was one of the first (and arguably the most famous) of all-string jazz bands.
Grappelli was born in Paris, France to Italian parents: his father, marquess Ernesto Grappelli was born in Alatri (Lazio). His mother died when he was four and his father left to fight in World War I. As a result he was sent to an orphanage. Grappelli started his musical career busking on the streets of Paris and Montmartre with a violin. He began playing the violin at age 12, and attended the Conservatoire de Paris studying music theory, between 1924 and 1928. 
After the war he appeared on hundreds of recordings including sessions with Duke Ellington, jazz pianists Oscar Peterson, Michel Petrucciani and Claude Bolling, jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, jazz violinist Stuff Smith, Indian classical violinist L. Subramaniam,
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vibraphonist Gary Burton, pop singer Paul Simon, mandolin player David Grisman, classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin, orchestral conductor André Previn, guitar player Bucky Pizzarelli, guitar player Joe Pass, cello player Yo Yo Ma and many others.
vibraphonist Gary Burton, pop singer Paul Simon, mandolin player David Grisman, classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin, orchestral conductor André Previn, guitar player Bucky Pizzarelli, guitar player Joe Pass, cello player Yo Yo Ma and many others.He also collaborated extensively with the British guitarist and graphic designer Diz Disley, recording 13 record albums with him and his trio, and with now renowned British guitarist Martin Taylor. In the 1980s he gave several concerts with the young British cellist Julian Lloyd Webber.
At ease with a repertoire based upon his early career successes, Grappelli's flowing style steadily matured over the years and the occasional uncertainties of his early work with Reinhardt are long forgotten.
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Perhaps at odd moments in his later years he seemed to be coasting, yet some of his recorded performances are very good while several of those from the mid- and late 70s are amongst the most distinguished in the history of jazz violin.
Of particular merit are Parisian Thoroughfare, recorded with the rhythm section of Roland Hanna, George Mraz and Mel Lewis, and a set recorded at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London in 1973 when he was backed by Disley and Len Skeat. Grappelli's late flowering helped to prompt appreciation of the old tradition of jazz violin playing.
In the 1980s he gave several concerts with British cellist Julian Lloyd Webber. Although sometimes confined to a wheelchair, he continued concert touring into the mid-1990s.Among his many honours, Grappelli received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as the Ordre National de la Legion d'honneur, France's highest civilian honour. He was also inducted into the Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame.
Stephan Grappelli died in Paris on December 1, 1997 after undergoing a hernia operation. He is buried in the city's Père Lachaise Cemetery.
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(Compiled and edited from Wikipedia & Verve Music Group)
Here’s a clip of Stephane Grappelli at the Warsaw Jazz Festival in 1991 with McCoy Tyner, piano; Jean-Philippe Viret, bass; Mark Fosset, guitar.