Hermine Duerloo, Laurent Maur and Alexandre Piret join me on episode 150, for a retrospective on the great Toots Thielemans. 

Toots was born in 1922 to humble beginnings, in Brussels, Belgium, where his parents ran a cafe. His first instrument was an accordion, which he started playing at age three and showed great promise. He took up guitar and the chromatic harmonica around the age of sixteen. He then went on to tour Europe with Benny Goodman in 1950 before moving to the US in 1951 where he landed a seat in the George Shearing Quintet, mainly as a guitar player, but also playing some songs on chromatic. 

Toots made his first solo albums from the late 1950s, including the iconic Man Bites Harmonica. From the 1960s Toots was in great demand as a session musician, recording with many giants of the music industry, such as Bill Evans, Paul Simon and Billy Joel. He also made some notable musical collaborations, including with Jaco Pastorius and Quincy Jones, and recorded on numerous film and tv scores, such as Midnight Cowboy and Sesame Street. 

Toots had such a long and glorious career that it’s hard to do it justice, but this episode attempts to highlight some of the key moments from the undisputed giant of the chromatic harmonica, and one who has inspired pretty much every chromatic player that has followed. 

Links:

Compilation of interviews with Toots put together by a Belgian DJ Nico Kanakaris: https://www.mixcloud.com/bluenote71/toots-thielemans-100/

Articles on Toots from Roger Trobridge's The Archivist site: http://www.the-archivist.co.uk/tag/toots-thielemans/

Videos:

The story of Toots Thielemans by Steven De Bruyn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar7CnZS0m0k

With Paul Simon in 1975: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8v2j4lJJZY&list=RDq8v2j4lJJZY

With Billy Joel in 1983: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Te0DB86-wY&list=RD6Te0DB86-wY

Three Views of a Secret live with Jaco Pastorius: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBhoDaS5SKQ&list=RDyBhoDaS5SKQ

Toots Thielemans 100th Anniversary Official Concert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4hqApO5BH8

Podcast website:
https://www.harmonicahappyhour.com

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Spotify Playlist:
Also check out the Spotify Playlist, which contains most of the songs discussed in the podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5QC6RF2VTfs4iPuasJBqwT?si=M-j3IkiISeefhR7ybm9qIQ

Podcast sponsors:
This podcast is sponsored by SEYDEL harmonicas - visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.seydel1847.com  or on Facebook or Instagram at SEYDEL HARMONICAS
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