Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1922-04-29
- Died
- 2016-08-22
- Works
- 1
Top works
- Hard to say goodbye - the very best of (5603842)
via Open Library + Wikidata
Film & TV
Acting · Brussels, Belgium
Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (29 April 1922 – 22 August 2016), known professionally as Toots Thielemans, was a Belgian jazz musician. He was mostly known for his chromatic harmonica playing, 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…
Known for
- Elis & Tom: It Had to be You — Self (archive footage)2023
- Toots Thielemans - Live at le Chapiteau Opera de Liege, May 17, 2012 — harmonica2014
- Best of Night of the Proms Vol. 4 — self2010
- V.A. North Sea Jazz — Self2009
- Christmas in Paris — Himself2008
- Toots Thielemans, a Jazz Legend — Self2008
Article
Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (29 April 1922 – 22 August 2016), known professionally as Toots Thielemans ([tuts tiləmans]), 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". He eventually became the "preeminent" jazz harmonica player.
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, Quincy Jones, George Shearing, Natalie Cole, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, and Paquito D'Rivera.
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1922 births2016 deaths20th-century Belgian male musicians20th-century guitarists21st-century Belgian guitaristsBebop musiciansBelgian baronsBelgian emigrants to the United StatesBelgian harmonica playersBelgian jazz guitaristsBelgian whistlersBrazilian jazz (genre) musiciansChevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres