Toots Thielemans

[Cyril]

Today, 12 March 2014, Thielemans cancelled all upcoming concerts and announced the end of his musical career. He's 91.
His manager states Thielemans "wants to enjoy the rest he deserves".

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....

The legendary Thielemans played with greats such as Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Charlie Parker and Ella Fitzgerald. Thielemans was also a regular guest at major jazz festivals and played several times at the North Sea Jazz.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_UlWWSF-FM

Website: http://www.tootsthielemans.com

Edited March 12, 2014 by Cyril

[fasstrack]

Possibly in frail health? We'll miss hearing you, Toots.

[Cyril]

  On 3/12/2014 at 3:55 PM, fasstrack said:

Possibly in frail health?

It's possible at age 91...

In recent years, Thielemans had to cope with failing health but he refused to let this put him off and in 2012 he played a concert in Brussels to mark his 90th birthday before setting out on a tour which took him to Japan and the US.

[jlhoots]

Man Bites Harmonica (Riverside) is my favorite.

[Justin V]

I was worried when I saw this thread that it was going to be about another giant's passing. I hope that Toots enjoys a healthy and happy retirement; he deserves it. I was fortunate to catch him in person with Kenny Werner at the Detroit Jazz Fest a couple of years ago. I've been meaning to start a thread about his music, which I'll do soon.

Edited March 12, 2014 by Justin V

[gmonahan]

I adore Toots. There are few artists whom I buy "on sight," that is, whose music I buy whenever and wherever I see it. Toots is one of those artists. My favorite is "Affinity," the album he did with Bill Evans, but they're all wonderful. Happy retirement, Toots!

gregmo

[sidewinder]

I've never seen him live but have really enjoyed hearing him in a myriad of settings for many years (first thing I heard him on was Quincy Jones' 'Smackwater Jack' I think, when it first came out). That's a lot of years - here's wishing him an enjoyable and peaceful rest.

[sgcim]

I met Toots when he was playing guitar and harmonica in an All-Star big band at a jazz festival they used to have on Lon Guyland in the 70s.

I was playing in a kid band before them, and he and Ron Carter didn't have amplifiers for the rehearsal, so they both used my friend's Kustom 100, that I was borrowing.

They didn't even ask me, they just told me they were using it. Toots saw that I was totally in awe of him and Ron, so he ordered me to move the amp where he wanted it. He said to me:'"Slave, you will move the amp over here!" I, of course, complied.

A student arranger from Eastman wrote a chart for them, and Ron Carter made him rewrite the bass part right before the concert, because he said it was too sloppy.

The poor guy was completely freaking out while Ron sat back and relaxed. Toots got standing ovations from the audience on his harmonica features.

We used to have thousands in attendance at these summer jazz festivals, because it was free, and it was held at the huge Eisenhower Park, which goes on for miles.

People loved it, but when the head of the Office of Arts and Cultural Development(who loved jazz) was politically ousted, they never held another jazz festival.

[crisp]

This forthcoming set looks interesting:

However I can't work out what albums/sessions the tracks come from, apart from the guest tracks with Paul Simon and the like. Any ideas?

Track Listings

Disc: 1

  1. Bluesette

  2. Night Game - Paul Simon

  3. Turks Fruit - Rogier Van Otterloo

  4. Cocktails for Two

  5. Un jour tu verras

  6. Nobody Does It Better

  7. Dance for Victor (Dedicated to Victor Feldman)

  8. Winter Green and Summer Blue - Nancy Wilson

  9. Coracao Vagabundo

  10. Sophisticated Lady

  11. Don't Be That Way

  12. My Funny Valentine - Aziza Mustafa Zadeh

  13. I'm Putting All My Eggs In One Basket

  14. Old Friend

  15. Dat Mistige Rooie Beest - Rogier Van Otterloo

  16. Hymne a l'amour (If You Love Me, Really Love Me)

  17. The Summer Knows - Rita Reys

  18. Sonny Boy

  19. Moments

 

Disc: 2

  1. Leave a Tender Moment Alone - Billy Joel

  2. Killer Joe

  3. La vie en rose

  4. Take Five

  5. Wat Zonde - Rogier Van Otterloo

  6. Maybe September - Louis Van Dijk, Toots Thielemans, Wim Overgaauw

  7. Linda (Voce é Linda)

  8. Ne me quitte pas

  9. Scotch On the Rocks

  10. Les moulins de mon coeur (The Windmills of Your Mind)

  11. Comecar de Novo

  12. So Rare

  13. La valse des lilas (Once Upon a Summertime)

  14. Ponteio - Astrud Gilberto

  15. Stars Fell On Alabama

  16. Days of Wine and Roses

  17. I Can't Sleep - Aziza Mustafa Zadeh

  18. Two of a Kind - Rogier Van Otterloo, Toots Thielemans

  19. Blue In Green

 

Disc: 3

  1. Theme from "Sugarland Express" - John Williams

  2. Il Restera Toujours - Vaya Con Dios

  3. Rosa Turbinata - Rogier Van Otterloo, Toots Thielemans

  4. Close Enough for Love - Vanessa Rubin

  5. I Won't Last a Day Without You - Toots Thielemans, Wim Overgaauw, Louis Van Dijk

  6. Diga Diga Doo

  7. Que reste-T'Il de nos amours (I Wish You Love)

  8. Manha de Carnaval

  9. My Ship - Louis Van Dijk, Toots Thielemans, Wim Overgaauw

  10. Stardust - Steve Tyrell

  11. Sous le ciel de Paris

  12. Here's That Rainy Day

  13. Samba de Uma Nota Só

  14. Jane's Theme - Rogier Van Otterloo, Toots Thielemans

  15. Quiet Evenings

  16. On the Alamo

  17. Valse No. 2

  18. Skylark

  19. The Shadow of Your Smile (From "The Sandpiper")

  20. Obsession

  21. I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart

  22. Waltz for Debby

[mjzee]

I'm listening now to The Real...Toots Thielemans.  As you can see, a really generous collection, with each disc approaching 80 minutes.  While all Sony based, it seems to span most of his career.  However, no booklet and no real liner notes other than what you see above.  "Un jour tu verras" features Dianne Reeves, "La vie en rose" features Diana Krall, "La valse des lilas (Once Upon a Summertime)" features Shirley Horn (a really nice rendition), and "Ponteio" is from Gilberto feat. Turrentine.  Really, the only glaring omission is the Sesame Street theme.

Very listenable; this is like the Mosaic Select Toots never got.  And very inexpensive.

[crisp]

  On 9/24/2017 at 2:57 AM, mjzee said:

I'm listening now to The Real...Toots Thielemans.  As you can see, a really generous collection, with each disc approaching 80 minutes.  While all Sony based, it seems to span most of his career.  However, no booklet and no real liner notes other than what you see above.  "Un jour tu verras" features Dianne Reeves, "La vie en rose" features Diana Krall, "La valse des lilas (Once Upon a Summertime)" features Shirley Horn (a really nice rendition), and "Ponteio" is from Gilberto feat. Turrentine.  Really, the only glaring omission is the Sesame Street theme.

Very listenable; this is like the Mosaic Select Toots never got.  And very inexpensive.

Expand  

Thanks. It looks like a nice, eclectic selection.

Looks like the Rogier van Otterloo tracks come from these albums:

Slow Motion

Moods

[crisp]

Some of the standards material probably from this:

The Sound

Other bits from Chez Toots (released by Private Music, which was bought by BMG, now owned by Sony).

I've ordered this set. Posting this research on here in case anyone other than me finds it useful.

Edited September 25, 2017 by crisp

[Dmitry]

Incidentally, just picked up an original Stereo pressing of the Man Bites Harmonica, havn't played it yet.
His The Whistler and His Guitar is cute, in a muzak sense. Both of the Brasil Project cds are enjoyable. Of course, seeing him live at the Iridium ca.1999 was phenomenally-interesting. Also, when I was in Nice about 22 years ago, I caught a tv documentary on him, in Flemish[?]. Couldn't understand a word. It was about a 2 hour affair. I wonder if it's been subtitled, as it looked like serious career retrospective.
I must admit that listening to an album's-worth of harmonica drives me nuts.

[mr jazz]

Ordered the set. $8.84 shipped from Walmart. Thanks for the heads up!