Toots Thielemans

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Biography

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

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 Masters|NEA Jazz Master , the highest honour for a jazz musician in the United States.

He is perhaps best-known to the American public for whistling the melody in commercials for Old Spice cologne.

Career

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. 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 . In 1951 he became a band member of the singer-songwriter and compatriot Bobbejaan Schoepen (at the time still as a guitarist).

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 . He played and recorded with Ella Fitzgerald , Jaco Pastorius , Peggy Lee , George Shearing|The George Shearing Quintet , Quincy Jones , Oscar Peterson , Bill Evans , Paul Simon , Billy Joel , The Happenings , Astrud Gilberto , Shirley Horn , Elis Regina and others.

A jazz standard by Toots Thielemans is "Bluesette" where he used whistling and guitar in unison . First recorded by Toots in 1962, with lyrics added by Norman Gimbel the song became a major worldwide hit. His harmonica playing can also be heard in film score s such as Midnight Cowboy , Jean de Florette , Sugarland Express , The Yakuza , Turkish Delight (film)|Turkish Delight , The Getaway (1972 film)|The Getaway , French Kiss (film)|French Kiss , Dunderklumpen , and in various TV programs, including Sesame Street , the Belgian TV series Witse , and the Dutch TV series :nl:Baantjer (televisie)|Baantjer . He composed the music for the 1974 Swedish film Dunderklumpen! in which he also voiced the animated character Pellegnillot.

His Puccalo|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 (Jaco Pastorius album)|Word of Mouth Big Band . 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 . In 1984, he recorded the final album of Billy Eckstine (I Am A Singer), featuring very beautiful 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 Mills of my Heart ) 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 Le plus grand Belge|The Greatest Belgian . In the Flanders|Flemish version he ended 20th place, in the Wallonia|Walloon version he ended 44th place. In October 2008, he was honored with the 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.

Discography

Major works include:

The Sound (1955, Columbia)

Man Bites Harmonica (1958, Riverside Records )

The Whistler and His Guitar (1964, ABC-Paramount )

Only Trust Your Heart (1988, Concord Records )

Footprints (1991, Universal Music|Universal )

The Brasil Project (1992, BMG )

The Brasil Project vol 2. (1993, BMG )

Compact Jazz (1993, Verve Records|Verve )

East Coast, West Coast (1994, Private Music )

Apple Dimple (1994, Denon )

Aquarela do Brasil (1995, Universal Music|Universal )

Chez Toots (1998, Windham Hill )

The Live Takes, volume 1 (2000, Quetzal records)

Hard to Say Goodbye, the very best of Toots Thielemans (2000, Universal Music|Universal )

Toots Thielemans & Kenny Werner (2001, Universal Music|Universal )

One More for the Road (2006, Verve Records|Verve )

As sideman

With Dizzy Gillespie :

Digital at Montreux, 1980 (Pablo, 1980)

With Urbie Green :

The Fox (Urbie Green album)|The Fox (CTI, 1976)

With Oscar Peterson :

Live at the North Sea Jazz Festival, 1980 (Oscar Peterson album)|Live at the North Sea Jazz Festival, 1980 , (1980, Pablo Records )

Copyright Citations

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Undetermined Music Artists