In 1930s Paris the Manouche (French Sinti) guitarist Django Reinhardt fused American swing with Romani musical phrasing to create a new genre — gypsy jazz, or jazz manouche. With violinist Stéphane Grappelli he led the Quintette du Hot Club de France, one of Europe’s first major contributions to jazz.
Reinhardt played with only two fully working fretting fingers after a caravan fire, yet became one of the most influential guitarists in history. The style — fast, acoustic and deeply melodic — is carried on today by Sinti and Manouche families and by players worldwide.
Sources & further reading: Wikipedia (Django Reinhardt; gypsy jazz) and RomArchive.
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