Toots Thielemans

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This article is about the Jazz musician. For the reggae artist, see Toots & the Maytals.
Toots Thielemans
Toots thielemans.jpg
Dutch Big Band Contest, 2006
Background information
Birth name Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans
Born (1922-04-29) 29 April 1922 (age 91)
Brussels, Belgium
Genres Jazz
Occupations Musician, composer
Instruments Harmonica, guitar, puccalo
Years active 1949–present
Associated acts Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder
Website www.tootsthielemans.com
Circle of Smiles theme on chromatic harmonica (Hohner CX 12 C)

Toots Thielemans (born Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans, 29 April 1922, Brussels, Belgium) is a Belgian jazz musician known for his guitar and harmonica playing as well as his whistling. Thielemans is credited as one of the greatest harmonica players of the 20th century.[1][2]

He has worked as a bandleader (scoring an international hit in the 1960s with his song "Bluesette"), as a sideman (notably on many projects with composer/arranger Quincy Jones), and has appeared on dozens of film soundtracks. In 2009 he became NEA Jazz Master, the highest honour for a jazz musician in the United States.[3]

He may be best known to some as the performer whistling the melody in commercials for Old Spice cologne.

Contents

Career[edit]

Thielemans started his career as a guitar player. In 1949 he joined a jam session in Paris with Sidney Bechet, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Max Roach and others.[4] In 1949 and 1950 he participated in European tours with Benny Goodman, making his first record in Paris with fellow band member, tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims.[5] In 1951 he became a band member of the singer-songwriter and compatriot Bobbejaan Schoepen (at the time still as a guitarist).[6][7]

He moved to the US in 1952 where he was a member of Charlie Parker's All-Stars and worked with Miles Davis and Dinah Washington.[citation needed] From 1952 to 1959 he was a member of the George Shearing Quintet, primarily playing guitar but also being featured on harmonica both in performances and on recordings. He has also played and recorded with Ella Fitzgerald, Jaco Pastorius, Stephane Grappelli, J.J. Johnson, Michael Franks, Peggy Lee,((John Williams)), Quincy Jones, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, The Happenings, Astrud Gilberto, Shirley Horn, Elis Regina, Joe Pass, and others.[2]

A jazz standard by Toots Thielemans is "Bluesette", where he used whistling and guitar in unison. First recorded by him in 1962, with lyrics added by Norman Gimbel, the song became a major worldwide hit.

His harmonica playing can also be heard in film scores such as Midnight Cowboy, Cinderella Liberty, Jean de Florette, Sugarland Express, The Yakuza, Turkish Delight, The Getaway, French Kiss, Dunderklumpen, and in various TV programs, including Sesame Street, the Belgian TV series Witse, and the Dutch TV series Baantjer. He composed the music for the 1974 Swedish film Dunderklumpen! in which he also voiced the animated character Pellegnillot.

His whistling and harmonica playing can be heard on Old Spice radio and TV commercials that have been made over the years. During the 1980s he performed with bassist and composer/bandleader Jaco Pastorius in ensembles ranging from duet to the Word of Mouth Big Band.[8] In 1983 he contributed to Billy Joel's album An Innocent Man, and his trademark harmonica can be heard on "Leave a Tender Moment Alone." A year later, he appeared on the Julian Lennon song "Too Late For Goodbyes" from the album Valotte.[9] In 1984, he recorded the final album of Billy Eckstine (I Am A Singer), featuring ballads and standards arranged and conducted by Angelo DiPippo. In the 1990s Thielemans embarked on theme projects that included world music. In 1998 he released a French flavoured album titled "Chez Toots" that included the Les Moulins De Mon Coeur (The Windmills of Your Mind) featuring guest singer Johnny Mathis. Apart from his popularity as an accomplished musician, he is well liked for his modesty and kind demeanor. In his native Belgium, he is also popular for describing himself as a Brussels "ket", which means "street kid" in old Brussels slang. He received a joint honorary doctorate from the Université Libre de Bruxelles and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium) and in 2001 Thielemans was ennobled a baron by King Albert II of Belgium.

In 2005 he was nominated for the title of The Greatest Belgian. In the Flemish version he ended 20th place, in the Walloon version he ended 44th place. In October 2008, he was honored with the 2009 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowship. On 23 January 2009, he joined Philip Catherine on stage at the Liberchies church (Belgium) in memory of the 100th anniversary of Django Reinhardt's birth. In 2012, the Jazz at Lincoln Center concerts in New York celebrated his 90th birthday with Herbie Hancock, Eliane Elias, Kenny Werner, Marc Johnson, Oscar Castro-Neves, and Dori Caymmi. He performed for the occasion and left the stage standing among his friends.[10]

Discography[edit]

Toots Thielemans (left) and Joe Marsala (right), ca. 1947. Photography by William P. Gottlieb.
Toots at La Brasserie 1975

Major works include:

As sideman[edit]

[icon] This section requires expansion. (February 2012)

With Bill Evans

With Dizzy Gillespie:

With Urbie Green:

With Oscar Peterson:

With Billy Joel:

References[edit]

  1. ^ "National Endowment for The Arts, Toots Thielemans biography". Nea.gov. 1922-04-29. Retrieved 2012-06-25. 
  2. ^ a b "All About Jazz, Toots Thielemans biography". Allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 2012-06-25. 
  3. ^ "NEA, National Endowment for the Arts Announces the 2009 NEA Jazz Masters, June 3, 2008". NEA.gov. 2010-05-30. Archived from the original on 2010-05-30. Retrieved 2012-06-25. 
  4. ^ "Festival International De Jazz All Stars in the Charlie Parker discography". Jazzdisco.org. Retrieved 2012-06-25. 
  5. ^ "Billboard, Thielemans biography". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-06-25. 
  6. ^ "Bobbejaan Schoepen: Belgian musician who worked with Jacques Brel and Josephine Baker - ''The Independent'', 30 July 2010". Independent.co.uk. 2010-07-30. Retrieved 2012-06-25. 
  7. ^ "Biography Bobbejaan Schoepen". Bobbejaan.be. Retrieved 2012-06-25. 
  8. ^ "Mars Jazz, Excerpted from Windham Hill promo material for Chez Toots". Marsjazz.com. Retrieved 2012-06-25. 
  9. ^ Valotte (Inner sleeve). Julian Lennon. Charisma, Universal Music Group. 1984. JLLP 1.
  10. ^ http://news.yahoo.com/musician-friends-celebrate-thielemans-90-years-025534001.html

External links[edit]

Authority control
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