Bluesette is a
jazz standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive List ...
, composed by
Toots Thielemans
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 playing the chromatic harmonica, as well as his guitar and wh ...
. First recorded by Toots Thielemans in 1962, with lyrics added by
Norman Gimbel
Norman Gimbel (November 16, 1927 – December 19, 2018) was an American lyricist and songwriter of popular songs and themes to television shows and films. He wrote the lyrics for songs including " Ready to Take a Chance Again" (with composer Cha ...
, the song became an international hit. It has since been covered by over one hundred artists.
Thielemans received Grammy Award nominations for
Best Instrumental Theme in 1964 and
Best Jazz Instrumental Solo in 1992 for the song.
In 2000, Bluesette was inducted in the
Radio 2 Hall of Fame.
Selected cover versions
Instrumental version
*
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...
for his album ''
Progressive Pickin''' (1964)
*
Tito Puente
Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – May 31, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, timbalero, and record producer. He composed dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz music. He was also k ...
and his orchestra(1966)
*
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...
for his album ''
My Kind of Jazz'' (1970)
*
Tony Mottola
Anthony C. "Tony" Mottola (April 18, 1918 – August 9, 2004) was an American jazz guitarist who released dozens of solo albums. Mottola was born in Kearny, New Jersey and died in Denville.
Career
Like many of his contemporaries, Mottola ...
included in the album ''Tony Mottola's Guitar Factory'' and released as a single (1970)
*
Hank Jones
Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians have described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts h ...
included in the album ''
Bluesette'' (1979)
*
Bobby Enriquez
Roberto Delprado Yulo "Bobby" Enriquez (May 20, 1943 – August 6, 1996) was a Filipino jazz pianist. He was called "the Wildman" due to his energetic playing style.
Life
Born in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, his first love was the piano (h ...
in the album ''Live! in Tokyo'' (1982)
Vocal version, with lyrics by
Norman Gimbel
Norman Gimbel (November 16, 1927 – December 19, 2018) was an American lyricist and songwriter of popular songs and themes to television shows and films. He wrote the lyrics for songs including " Ready to Take a Chance Again" (with composer Cha ...
*
Vikki Carr
Florencia Vicenta de Casillas-Martínez Cardona (born July 19, 1940), known by her stage name Vikki Carr, is an American vocalist. She has a singing career that spans more than five decades.
Born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican parents, she has ...
for her album ''Discovery! Miss Vikki Carr'' (1964)
*
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...
a single release in 1964
*
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...
for his album ''
Progressive Pickin''' (1964)
*
Johnny Mathis
John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer. Starting his 69-year career with singles of standard (music), standard music, Mathis is one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century and became highly popular as ...
(1965) (
The Complete Global Albums Collection#Singles and Unreleased, Vol. Two)
*
The Four Tops
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
for the album
''On Top'' (1966)
*
Billy Paul
Paul Williams (December 1, 1934 – April 24, 2016), known professionally as Billy Paul, was an American soul music, soul singer, known for his 1972 Record chart, No. 1 single "Me and Mrs. Jones". His 1973 album and single ''War of the Gods (alb ...
a single release in 1969
*
Sue Raney
Raelene Claire Claussen, known professionally as Sue Raney (born June 18, 1940, in McPherson, Kansas) is an American jazz singer. Raney was signed by Capitol Records in 1957 at age 17. That same year, she recorded her debut album, ''When Your Lov ...
(1969)later included in the compilation album ''Breathless'' (1997)
*
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...
for his album ''
Mellow Madness'' (1975)
*
Mel Tormé
Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "the Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arrangement, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roa ...
and
Buddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time.
Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ...
for the album ''
Together Again: For the First Time'' (1978)
*
Nicole Croisille
Nicole Croisille (9 October 1936 – 4 June 2025) was a French singer and actress. She appeared in 24 films between 1961 and 2005, and recorded several albums since 1961.
Perhaps her most heard work is on the soundtrack of 1966 film, '' A Man a ...
(1987)included in the album ''
Jazzille/Jazzy''
*
Connie Evingsonincluded in the album ''Some Cats Know'' (1999)
Source:
References
ABC Records singles
Jazz compositions in B-flat major
Real Book Song
Year of song missing
{{1960s-jazz-composition-stub