Toots Thielemans

From Vero - Wikipedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox musical artist

Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (29 April 1922 – 22 August 2016), known professionally as Toots Thielemans (Template:IPA), was a Belgian jazz musician. He was mostly known for playing the chromatic harmonica, as well as his guitar and whistling skills, and composing. According to jazz historian Ted Gioia, his most important contribution was in "championing the humble harmonica", which Thielemans made into a "legitimate voice in jazz".<ref name=":1">Gioia, Ted. The History of Jazz, Oxford Univ. Press (2011) p. 382</ref> He eventually became the "preeminent" jazz harmonica player.<ref name=":2">Morton, Brian, and Cook, Richard. The Penguin Jazz Guide: the History of the Music in the 1000 Best Albums, Penguin UK, (2010) ebook.</ref>

His first professional performances were with Benny Goodman's band when they toured Europe in 1949 and 1950. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1951, becoming a citizen in 1957. From 1953 to 1959 he played with George Shearing, and then led his own groups on tours in the U.S. and Europe. In 1961 he recorded and performed live one of his own compositions, "Bluesette", which featured him playing guitar and whistling. In the 1970s and 1980s, he continued touring and recording, appearing with musicians such as Oscar Peterson, Elis Regina, Caetano Veloso, Ella Fitzgerald, Ivan Lins, Sarah Vaughan, Bill Evans, Dizzy Gillespie, Kenny Werner, Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius, Mina Mazzini, Elis Regina, Quincy Jones, George Shearing, Natalie Cole, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, and Paquito D'Rivera.

Thielemans recorded the soundtracks for The Pawnbroker (1964), The Reivers (1969), Midnight Cowboy (1969), The Getaway (1972), Cinderella Liberty (1973), Turkish Delight (1973 film), The Sugarland Express (1974) and Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977). His harmonica theme song for the popular Sesame Street TV show was heard for 40 years. He often performed and recorded with Quincy Jones, who once called him "one of the greatest musicians of our time."<ref name=NYT/> In 2009 he was designated a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts, the highest honor for a jazz musician in the United States.

Early years

Thielemans was born in Brussels on 29 April 1922.<ref name="Larkin">Template:Cite book</ref> His parents owned a café.<ref name=NYT/> He began playing music at an early age, using a homemade accordion at age three.<ref name=NBC/> During the German occupation of Belgium beginning in 1940, he became attracted to jazz, but was then playing on a full-size accordion or a harmonica, which he taught himself to play in his teens.<ref name=NYT/><ref name="auto1">Template:Cite web</ref>

After being introduced to the music of Belgian-born jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, he became inspired to teach himself guitar, which he did by listening to Reinhardt's recordings.<ref name=NBC/> At the time he was a college student majoring in mathematics.<ref name=Carr>Carr, Ian; Fairweather, Digby. The Rough Guide to Jazz, Rough Guides (2004) p. 788</ref> By the war's end in 1945, he considered himself a full-time musician.<ref name=NYT/> He said in 1950, "Django is still one of my main influences, I think, for lyricism. He can make me cry when I hear him."<ref name=Field>Field, Kim. Harmonicas, Harps, and Heavy Breathers: the Evolution of the People's Instrument, Rowman & Littlefield (1993) pp. 253-255</ref> During an interview in 1988, he recalled, "I guess I was born at the right time to live and adapt and be touched by the evolution in the jazz language."<ref name="auto1"/>

Career

1940s–1950s

Thielemans, Adele Girard and Joe Marsala in front of the Onyx Club, 1948

Template:Quote box

In 1949 he joined a jam session in Paris with Sidney Bechet, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis,<ref name=economic>"Belgian jazz harmonica great Toots Thielemans passes away at 94" Template:Webarchive, The Economic Times, 23 August 2016</ref> Max Roach and others.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref> He first heard the faster bebop style of jazz from records by Parker and Dizzy Gillespie after they had reached Belgium after the war. They became his musical "prophets".<ref name=NBC/> As his small collection of jazz records grew, the music of Benny Goodman and Lester Young began to impress him the most.<ref name=Field/>

During a visit to the U.S. in 1948, an agent of Benny Goodman heard him play at a small New York music club. Not long after he returned to his home in Belgium, he received a letter inviting him to join Goodman's band while they toured in Europe. He readily accepted the invitation and joined their tours in 1949 and 1950.<ref name=NBC/> During the tour, Goodman was "shocked" when he learned that these tours were the first time Thielemans had earned money from his playing.<ref name=Field/> Although Thielemans was hired on as a guitarist, when Goodman's group debuted at the London Palladium, he played the harmonica due to union restrictions.<ref name=Field/>

During those years, he also made his first record with fellow band member, tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims. In 1951 he toured with singer-songwriter and compatriot Bobbejaan Schoepen, performing strictly as a guitarist.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref>

Thielemans moved to the United States in 1952 where he was a member of Charlie Parker's All-Stars and worked with Miles Davis and Dinah Washington.<ref name=NBC/> In 1957 he became a U.S. citizen.<ref name=WashPost>"'Toots' Thielemans, master of the jazz harmonica, dies at 94", The Washington Post, 22 August 2016</ref> From 1953 to 1959 he played guitar and harmonica with the George Shearing Quintet.<ref name=NBC/> With Shearing, he added whistling to his repertoire.<ref name=NBC/> While Thielemans was playing in Hamburg in 1960 on tour with Shearing, a young musician and observer —John Lennon— noticed that Thielemans played a Rickenbacker guitar.<ref>The Beatles: Tune In: Extended Special Edition (2013), by Mark Lewisohn, p. 716</ref> Lennon was impressed, and felt he had to have one as well, on the principle that "if it was good enough for Thielemans it was good enough for me." Lennon and the Beatles helped make Rickenbacker guitars world-famous.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":0" />

In 1955, Thielmans recorded his first album as a band leader, The Sound.<ref name=NBC/> During the 1950s, Thielemans had dominated the "miscellaneous instrument" category in Down Beat magazine's poll.<ref name=Field/> Jerry Murad, of Jerry Murad's Harmonicats recalls Thielemans's mastery:

<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

Template:ErrorTemplate:Main other{{#if:|

|}}{{#if:|

— {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries

}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }}

From 1959 on he toured internationally with his small group along with intermittently recording in the studio.<ref name=NBC/> He recorded with singers and musicians including Ella Fitzgerald,<ref name=NYT/> Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius, Stephane Grappelli, J.J. Johnson, Oscar Peterson, Shirley Horn, Joe Pass, and jazz pianist Bill Evans, among others. Thielemans says that his recording with Evans's trio, Affinity, (1979) was one of his favorites.<ref name=NBC/>

1960s–1970s

Thielemans in 1961
(Grand Gala du Disque, The Hague)

Toots Thielemans wrote "Bluesette", a jazz standard,<ref name="Larkin"/> which he performed on harmonica<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> or while playing the guitar and whistling in unison.<ref name=NBC/><ref name=whistle>Template:Cite web</ref> He said, "If there's a piece of music that describes me, it's that song."<ref name=NBC/> First recorded by him in 1962, with lyrics added by Norman Gimbel, the song became a major worldwide hit.<ref name=NYT/> It has since been covered by over one hundred artists.<ref name=Field/> Toots also wrote the ballad "Ladyfingers", which appeared on Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass's album Whipped Cream and Other Delights.

He worked both as a bandleader and as a sideman, including many projects with composer/arranger Quincy Jones.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the 1960s he performed on television with Peggy Lee.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1969 he recorded "Honeysuckle Rose Aquarela Do Brasil" with singer Elis Regina and performed with her on Swedish television special.<ref>video: Toots Thielemans performs "Together" live, with Elis Regina, 3 min. Swedish Broadcasting Corp., 1969</ref>

During his career he performed on many film soundtracks, such as The Pawnbroker (1964),<ref name=NBC/> Midnight Cowboy (1969),<ref name=NBC/> The Getaway (1972), Turkish Delight (1973), Cinderella Liberty (1973), The Sugarland Express (1974),<ref name=NBC/> The Yakuza (1974), Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), The Wiz (1978), Jean de Florette (1986), and French Kiss (1995). His closing theme to the popular Sesame Street television show was heard for 40 years.<ref name=NBC>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

His music was heard on the Belgian television series Witse, and in the Netherlands, for the Baantjer program. He composed the music for the 1974 Swedish film Dunderklumpen!, in which he also provided the voice of the animated character Pellegnillot. His whistling and harmonica playing was heard on Old Spice commercials in the 1960s.<ref name=NBC/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He played harmonica on "Night Game" on Paul Simon's 1975 album Still Crazy After All These Years.<ref>On his career through to the late 1970s see Roger Cotterrell, 'Toots Thielemans: A Traveling Man' Jazz Forum 55 (Sept 1978), 33-35.</ref>

1980s and later

Template:Quote box During the early 1980s Thielemans was a guest a number of times on Late Night with David Letterman.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He performed with the bassist Jaco Pastorius,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and in 1983 he contributed to Billy Joel's album An Innocent Man, playing on the song "Leave a Tender Moment Alone." A year later, he appeared on the Julian Lennon song "Too Late for Goodbyes" from the album Valotte.<ref name=Valottesleeve>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>

In 1984, he recorded with Billy Eckstine on the singer's final album (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 featuring guest singer Johnny Mathis.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

During those years, he often recorded songs as personal tributes to those who were influential during his career. On Chez Toots, for example, he included "Dance For Victor", which he dedicated to his sometimes keyboard accompanist, Victor Feldman.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Similarly, he recorded "Waltz for Sonny"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as a tribute to saxophonist Sonny Rollins.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In June 1998, at Germany's Jazzbaltica, he paid tribute to Frank Sinatra who died a month earlier.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> And during the first Caspian Jazz and Blues Festival in Azerbaijan in 2002, he performed his recorded version of "Imagine", his tribute to its writer, John Lennon.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Thielemans was well liked for his modesty and kind demeanor in his native Belgium, and was known for describing himself as a Brussels "ket", which means "street kid" in old Brussels slang.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Later life

Toots Thielemans in Duisburg, 2005

He was nominated for the title of the Greatest Belgian in 2005. In the Flemish version, he finished in 20th place, and in the Walloon version he came 44th.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 23 January 2009, he joined guitarist Philip Catherine on stage at the Liberchies church (Belgium) in memory of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Django Reinhardt. In 2012, the Jazz at Lincoln Center concerts in New York celebrated Thieleman's 90th birthday with, among others, Herbie Hancock, Eliane Elias, and Kenny Werner. He performed for the occasion and left the stage standing among his friends.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Because of health issues that led to show cancellations, Thielemans announced his retirement on 12 March 2014, cancelling all scheduled concerts. He was also hospitalized for a broken arm.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His manager stated that Thielemans "wants to enjoy the rest he deserves."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, he did make one more stage appearance, unannounced, in August 2014, at the Jazz Middelheim Festival in Antwerp.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Death

Thielemans died in Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium, at the age of 94.<ref name="NYT">Template:Cite news</ref>

After the announcement, the Netherlands-based jazz and pop orchestra Metropole Orkest, along with American musician Quincy Jones, performed at London's Royal Albert Hall in Thielemans' honor.<ref name="DS">"Toots Thielemans Saturday buried in Terhulpen", dS De Standard, Belgium, 22 August 2016</ref> Another concert was performed at the Grand-Place, Brussels.<ref name="DS" />

Thielemans was buried on 27 August 2016 in La Hulpe, just outside Brussels. Pianist Kenny Werner read a personal message from U.S. President Barack Obama for his widow, Huguette.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It read: "Dear Huguette. I was deeply saddened when I heard about your husband's passing. I hope that shared memories will soften your suffering. Lift faith from the support of friends and family. Know that you will be in my thoughts for the next days. May Toots' music lead you and offer you consolation. I'm sure it will do this for all of us."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Toots Thielemans Collection

In December 2016, the Music Division of the Royal Library of Belgium acquired the Toots Thielemans Collection. The collection consists of hundreds of sound recordings (78 rpm, vinyl records and CDs) and thousands of documents, such as photographs, press articles, scores, letters and concert programmes.

Honours and awards

Thielemans received a joint honorary doctorate from the Université libre de Bruxelles and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. In 2001, he was raised into the Belgian nobility by King Albert II and created Baron Thielemans for life, this in recognition of his contribution to music.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Herewith, he chose the motto Be yourself, no more no less.<ref name="auto">Etat présent de la noblesse belge, 4th series, 2003 /2014</ref>

In 2006, Thielemans was honoured by an all-star tribute concert for him at Carnegie Hall. Pianist Herbie Hancock and clarinetist Paquito D'Rivera were among the performers.<ref name="NYT" /> In 2009, he was awarded the highest U.S. honour that can be accorded to a jazz musician, the distinction of "Jazz Master", by The National Endowment for the Arts.<ref name="NYT" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was celebrated by a Google Doodle on his 100th birthday, 29 April 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2020, the Brussels public transport authority began work on the Toots Thielemans Metro station. It will form part of the extension of Metro Line 3 and is expected to come into service in 2025.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Titles of Honour<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Awards

Other

File:Toots Thielemans' statue.jpg
Thielemans' statue in La Hulpe

Discography

File:Toots Thielemans and Joe Marsala.jpg
Toots Thielemans (left) and Joe Marsala (right), c. 1947
File:Toots Thielemans 1975.jpg
Thielemans at La Brasserie, 1975

As leader

{{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B=Template:AmboxTemplate:Main other }}

  • The Sound (Columbia, 1955)
  • Man Bites Harmonica! (Riverside, 1958)
  • Time Out for Toots (Decca, 1958)
  • The Soul of Toots Thielemans with Ray Bryant (Signature, 1960)
  • Blues for Flirter (aka Try a Little Tenderness) (Polydor, 1961)
  • Road to Romance with Orchestra Directed by Kurt Edelhagen (Polydor, 1961)
  • The Romantic Sounds of Toots Thielemans (MGM, 1962)
  • Jazz Workshop Concert - Ruhrfestspiele 1962 with Friedrich Gulda, Herb Geller, Ack van Rooyen and Hans Koller (Columbia, 1962)
  • Toots Thielemans (Columbia, 1963)
  • The Whistler and His Guitar (ABC-Paramount, 1964)
  • Too Much! Toots! (Philips, 1965)
  • Contrasts (Command, 1966)
  • Toots (Command, 1968)
  • Toots on Tour (Philips, 1968)
  • Honeysuckle Rose Aquarela Do Brasil (aka Elis & Toots) with Elis Regina (Phillips, 1969)
  • Toots in Holland (Philips, 1970)
  • A Taste of Toots (Philips, 1970)
  • Yesterday and Today with Svend Asmussen (A&M, 1973)
  • Captured Alive (Choice, 1974)
  • Toots Thielemans/Philip Catherine & Friends (Keytone, 1974) [reissued with two bonus tracks as Two Generations (Limetree, 1996)]
  • Old Friend (Polydor, 1974)
  • Sweet & Lovely (ABC, 1975)
  • Sherlock Jones Original Soundtrack (Polydor, 1974)
  • Toots Möter Taube (Sonet, 1978)
  • Höresund with Östen Warnerbring (Frituna Sweden, 1979)
  • Johnny Larsen with C.V. Jørgensen (Metronome Denmark, 1979)
  • When I See You with Bill Ramsey (Erus Technik Gmbh, 1980)
  • Collage (CBS, 1980)
  • Swing on Birdland Vol.4 with Yuzuru Sera (Canyon, 1980)
  • The Guitar Session with Gene Bertoncini (Inner City, 1981)
  • Slow Motion (Jazz Man, 1981)
  • Toots & Louis with Louis Van Dijk (Polydor, 1982)
  • Live (Inner City, 1982)
  • Live 2 (Inner City, 1982)
  • Live 3 (Inner City, 1982)
  • Live in the Netherlands (Pablo, 1982)
  • Steel Tenor Madness (HEP, 1982)
  • Midnight Cruiser (Better Days Japan, 1983)
  • Christian Escoudé Group feat. Toots Thielemans (JMS France, 1983)
  • Harmonica Jazz (CBS, 1984)
  • Bringing It Together with Stephane Grappelli (Cymekob, 1984)
  • YaKsa (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) with Masahiko Satoh & Yukihide Takekawa (Interface Japan, 1985)
  • Chiko's Bar with Sivuca (Sonet, 1985)
  • Your Precious Love (Sonet, 1985)
  • Bande Originale Du Film Une Femme Ou Deux with Kevin Mulligan (Apache, 1985)
  • Just Friends with Paul Kuhn (Delta, 1986)
  • Check It Out with Mezzoforte (BBC Radioplay Music, 1986)
  • Toots & Svend with Svend Asmussen (Sonet, 1987)
  • Home Coming (CBS, 1987)
  • Only Trust Your Heart (Concord Jazz, 1988)
  • Romantic Gala (Dino Music, 1988)
  • Rosinha De Valença-Flavio Faria with Rosinha De Valença (RGE, 1989)
  • Toots Thielemans in Tokyo (Denon, 1989)
  • Footprints (EmArcy, 1990)
  • Spotlight (Sonet, 1990)
  • Apple Dimple (Denon, 1990)
  • For My Lady with the Shirley Horn Trio (EmArcy, 1991)
  • Make Someone Happy with Mary Kay (Gam Jam, 1991)
  • L'Or De L'Île Carn with Sirius (Keltia Musique, 1992)
  • The Brasil Project (Private Music, 1992)
  • Martial Solal Toots Thielemans with Martial Solal (Erato, 1992)
  • The Brasil Project Volume 2 (Private Music, 1993)
  • Calling Me Back Home with Randy Bernsen (101 South Records, 1993)
  • Do Not Leave Me (Milan, 1994)
  • East Coast West Coast (Private Music, 1994)
  • Chez Toots (Private Music, 1998)
  • Chet & Toots with Åke Johansson Trio and Chet Baker (Dragon, 1998)
  • Accentuate the Positive with Joe Kennedy Jr. (CAP, 1998)
  • The Live Takes Volume 1 (Narada, 2000)
  • Toots Thielemans and Kenny Werner (Verve, 2001)
  • This Heart Of Mine with Jackie Ryan and Ernie Watts (OpenArt, 2003)
  • Lady Be Good with DR Big Band and Etta Cameron (Content, 2003)
  • One More for the Road (Verve, 2006)
  • European Quartet Live (Challenge Jazz, 2010)
  • Live in Brussels with Tito Puente (Smith & Co, 2011)
  • Toots 90 (Challenge Jazz, 2012)
  • What a Wonderful World (Challenge Records, 2012)
  • Airegin (Vinyl Passion, 2014)

As sideman

Template:Div col With Jay Anderson

With Brook Benton

With Jay Berliner, Gene Bertoncini and Richard Resnicoff

With The Brothers Johnson

With Philip Catherine

  • End of August (WEA, 1982)

With Ray Charles

With Natalie Cole

With John Denver

With Rick Derringer

With Sheena Easton

With Eliane Elias

With Bill Evans

With Michael Franks

With Richard Galliano

With Dizzy Gillespie

With Lesley Gore

  • Love Me By Name (A&M, 1976)

With Urbie Green

With Henry Gross

  • Love Is the Stuff (Lifesong, 1978)

With Lena Horne

With Shirley Horn

With James Ingram

With Billy Joel

With Quincy Jones

With Fumio Karashima

  • Rencontre (Polydor, 1999)

With James Last

With Peggy Lee

With Julian Lennon

With Joe Lovano

With Melanie

With Pat Metheny

With Laura Nyro

With Sally Oldfield

  • Instincts (CBS, 1988)

With Jaco Pastorius

With Oscar Peterson

With Lionel Richie

With Diane Schuur

With George Shearing and Dakota Staton

With George Shearing

  • Shearing in Hi-Fi (MGM, 1955)
  • The Shearing Spell (Capitol, 1955)
  • Lullaby of Birdland (MGM, 1957)
  • Latin Affair (Capitol, 1958)
  • Jazz Conceptions (MGM, 1958)
  • Latin Lace (Capitol, 1958)
  • Beauty and the Beat! (Capitol, 1958)
  • Rap Your Troubles in Drums (MGM, 1959)
  • Shearing on Stage! (Capitol, 1959)
  • On the Sunny Side of the Strip (Capitol, 1960)

With Paul Simon

With Frank Sinatra

With Sivuca

  • Chiko's Bar (Sonet, 1985)

With James Taylor

With Sarah Vaughan

With Vanessa Williams

With Aziza Mustafa Zadeh

  • Jazziza (Columbia, 1997)

Template:Div col end

References

Template:Reflist

Further reading

 | name/{{#if:{{#invoke:ustring|match|1=0857957|2=^nm}}
   | Template:Trim/
   | nm0857957/
   }}
 | {{#if: {{#property:P345}}
   | name/Template:First word/
   | find?q=%7B%7B%23if%3A+%0A++++++%7C+%7B%7B%7Bname%7D%7D%7D%0A++++++%7C+%5B%5B%3ATemplate%3APAGENAMEBASE%5D%5D%0A++++++%7D%7D&s=nm
   }}
 }}{{#if: 0857957  {{#property:P345}} | {{#switch: 
 | award | awards = awards Awards for | biography | bio = bio Biography for
 }}}} {{#if: 
 | {{{name}}}
 | Template:PAGENAMEBASE
 }}] at IMDb{{#if: 0857957{{#property:P345}}
 | Template:EditAtWikidata
 | Template:Main other

}}{{#switch:{{#invoke:string2|matchAny|^nm.........|^nm.......|nm|.........|source=0857957|plain=false}} 

 | 1 | 3 =  Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning
 | 4 = Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning

}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:IMDb name with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|showblankpositional=1| 1 | 2 | id | name | section }}

Template:Authority control

Retrieved from "https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=Toots_Thielemans&oldid=609127"