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Jean Baptiste 'Toots' Thielemans was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1922. He is virtually the only renowned harmonica player in jazz, and started music on the accordion at age three. |
He won his first guitar on a bet, while the harmonica had always been a hobby. During the German occupation of Belgium in WWII, Thielemans heard jazz for the first time. By 1950, he had joined Benny Goodman's European concert tour, and in 1951, he immigrated to the United States. He took his nickname from two musicians on tour that year with Goodman -- saxophonist Toots Mondello and trumpet player Tutti Camarata.
Toots has been a member of Charlie Parker's All Stars and the George Shearing Quartet and is the perennial winner of the Down Beat Readers and Critics Poll in the "miscellaneous instruments" category. He also played the unforgettable harmonica solo on the "Sesame Street" theme song.
Performing with everyone from Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington to Paul Simon and Quincy Jones, Thielemans can also be heard on the Jean de Florette and Midnight Cowboy soundtracks. If you still don't think you've heard Thielemans before, perhaps you may recall his solo whistling gig for in the classic "Old Spice" commercial.
For his 80th birthday in Brussels, his native Belgium unveiled a stamp in Toots Thielemans' honor. Thielemans holds honorary degrees from both of Belgium's top schools, the Vrije Universiteit Brussels and the Université Libre de Bruxelles.
Set List for Toots Thielemans on Piano Jazz"Stella By Starlight" (Washington, Young)
"Body and Soul" (Green, Heyman, Sour)
"Lullaby of Birdland" (Gershwin)
"Georgia" (Carmichael, Gorrell)
"In the Days of Our Love" (McPartland)
"Maybe September" (Evans, Faith, Livingston)
"Giant Steps" (Coltrane)
"The Nearness of You" (Carmichael, Washington)
"Bluesette" (Gimbel/Thielemans)
The Official Toots Thielemans Web site
Toots has been a member of Charlie Parker's All Stars and the George Shearing Quartet and is the perennial winner of the Down Beat Readers and Critics Poll in the "miscellaneous instruments" category. He also played the unforgettable harmonica solo on the "Sesame Street" theme song.
Performing with everyone from Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington to Paul Simon and Quincy Jones, Thielemans can also be heard on the Jean de Florette and Midnight Cowboy soundtracks. If you still don't think you've heard Thielemans before, perhaps you may recall his solo whistling gig for in the classic "Old Spice" commercial.
For his 80th birthday in Brussels, his native Belgium unveiled a stamp in Toots Thielemans' honor. Thielemans holds honorary degrees from both of Belgium's top schools, the Vrije Universiteit Brussels and the Université Libre de Bruxelles.
Set List for Toots Thielemans on Piano Jazz
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