Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (29 April 1922 – 22 August 2016), known professionally as Toots Thielemans (), was a Belgian

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musician. He was mostly known for playing the chromatic harmonica, as well as his guitar and

whistling Whistling, without the use of an artificial whistle, is achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips, usually after applying moisture (licking one's lips or placing water upon them) and then blowing or sucking air through the space. Th ...

skills, and composing. According to jazz historian

Ted Gioia Ted Gioia (born October 21, 1957) is an American jazz critic and music historian. He is author of 12 books, including ''Music: A Subversive History'', '' The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire'', ''The History of Jazz'' and ''Delta Blues'' ...

, his most important contribution was in "championing the humble harmonica", which Thielemans made into a "legitimate voice in jazz".Gioia, Ted. ''The History of Jazz'', Oxford Univ. Press (2011) p. 382 He eventually became the "preeminent" jazz harmonica player.Morton, Brian, and Cook, Richard. ''The Penguin Jazz Guide: the History of the Music in the 1000 Best Albums'', Penguin UK, (2010) ebook. His first professional performances were with

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

'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 Sir George Albert Shearing (13 August 191914 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 so ...

, 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 Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. As a virtuoso who is considered to be one of the greatest Jazz piano, jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordin ...

Elis Regina Elis Regina Carvalho Costa (March 17, 1945 – January 19, 1982), known professionally as Elis Regina (), was a Brazilian singer of Bossa nova, Música popular brasileira, MPB and jazz music. She is also the mother of the singers Maria Rita and ...

Caetano Veloso Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicália, which encompas ...

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

, Ivan Lins,

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, ...

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, block chords, innovative chord voicings, a ...

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

Kenny Werner Kenny Werner (born November 19, 1951) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and author. Early life Born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 19, 1951, and then growing up in Oceanside, Long Island, Werner began playing and performing at a young ...

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He was the leader of the Pat Metheny Group (1977–2010) and continues to work in various small-combo, duet, and solo settings, as well as other side pr ...

Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony Pastorius III, also known as Jaco Pastorius (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987), was an American jazz bassist, composer, and producer. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential bassists of all time, ...

, Mina Mazzini,

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 ...

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to prominence in the mid-1970s, with the release of her debut ...

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

, and Paquito D'Rivera. Thielemans recorded the soundtracks for '' The Pawnbroker'' (1964), '' The Reivers'' (1969), ''

Midnight Cowboy ''Midnight Cowboy'' is a 1969 American drama film directed by John Schlesinger, adapted by Waldo Salt from the 1965 novel by James Leo Herlihy. The film stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, with supporting roles played by Sylvia Miles, J ...

'' (1969), '' The Getaway'' (1972), '' Cinderella Liberty'' (1973), ''

The Sugarland Express ''The Sugarland Express'' is a 1974 American crime comedy-drama film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film follows a woman ( Goldie Hawn) and her husband ( William Atherton) as they take a police officer ( Michael Sacks) hostage and flee acros ...

'' (1974) and '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977). His harmonica theme song for the popular ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

'' TV show was heard for 40 years. He often performed and recorded with

, who once called him "one of the greatest musicians of our time." In 2009 he was designated a Jazz Master by

the National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

, the highest honor for a jazz musician in the United States.

Early years

Thielemans was born in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

on 29 April 1922. His parents owned a café. He began playing music at an early age, using a homemade accordion at age three. 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. After being introduced to the music of Belgian-born jazz guitarist

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani people, Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Belgium, Belgian-born Romani jazz guitarist and composer in France. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe ...

, he became inspired to teach himself guitar, which he did by listening to Reinhardt's recordings. At the time he was a college student majoring in mathematics.Carr, Ian; Fairweather, Digby. ''The Rough Guide to Jazz'', Rough Guides (2004) p. 788 By the war's end in 1945, he considered himself a full-time musician. 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."Field, Kim. ''Harmonicas, Harps, and Heavy Breathers: the Evolution of the People's Instrument'', Rowman & Littlefield (1993) pp. 253-255 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."

Career

1940s–1950s

In 1949 he joined a

jam session A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without ...

in Paris with

Sidney Bechet Sidney Joseph Bechet ( ; May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important Solo (music), soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Ar ...

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

,"Belgian jazz harmonica great Toots Thielemans passes away at 94"
, ''The Economic Times'', 23 August 2016

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...

and others. He first heard the faster

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...

style of jazz from records by Parker and

after they had reached Belgium after the war. They became his musical "prophets". As his small collection of jazz records grew, the music of

and

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most i ...

began to impress him the most. 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. During the tour, Goodman was "shocked" when he learned that these tours were the first time Thielemans had earned money from his playing. Although Thielemans was hired on as a guitarist, when Goodman's group debuted at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...

, he played the harmonica due to union restrictions. During those years, he also made his first record with fellow band member, tenor saxophonist

Zoot Sims John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...

. In 1951 he toured with singer-songwriter and compatriot

Bobbejaan Schoepen Bobbejaan Schoepen (a pseudonym of Modest Schoepen; 16 May 1925 – 17 May 2010) was a Flemish pioneer in Belgian pop music, vaudeville, and European country music. Schoepen was a versatile entertainer, entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, guit ...

, performing strictly as a guitarist. Thielemans moved to the United States in 1952 where he was a member of Charlie Parker's All-Stars and worked with

and

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (; born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, one of the most popular black female recording artists of the 1950s. Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performed and recorded in a ...

. In 1957 he became a U.S. citizen."'Toots' Thielemans, master of the jazz harmonica, dies at 94"
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', 22 August 2016 From 1953 to 1959 he played guitar and harmonica with the

Quintet. With Shearing, he added whistling to his repertoire. While Thielemans was playing in Hamburg in 1960 on tour with Shearing, a young musician and observer —

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

— noticed that Thielemans played a

Rickenbacker guitar Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. Rickenbacker is the first known maker of electric guitars, with a steel guitar in 1932, and produces a range of electric guitars and bass ...

. 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. In 1955, Thielmans recorded his first album as a band leader, ''The Sound''. During the 1950s, Thielemans had dominated the "miscellaneous instrument" category in ''

Down Beat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'' magazine's poll. Jerry Murad, of Jerry Murad's Harmonicats recalls Thielemans's mastery: From 1959 on he toured internationally with his small group along with intermittently recording in the studio. He recorded with singers and musicians including

, Stephane Grappelli, J.J. Johnson,

Shirley Horn Shirley Valerie Horn (May 1, 1934 – October 20, 2005) was an American jazz singer and pianist. She collaborated with many jazz musicians including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Toots Thielemans, Ron Carter, Carmen McRae, Wynton Marsalis and oth ...

, Joe Pass, and jazz pianist

, among others. Thielemans says that his recording with Evans's trio, ''Affinity,'' (1979) was one of his favorites.

1960s–1970s

Toots Thielemans wrote " Bluesette", a jazz standard, which he performed on harmonica or while playing the guitar and whistling in unison. He said, "If there's a piece of music that describes me, it's that song." First recorded by him 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 a major worldwide hit. It has since been covered by over one hundred artists. 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

. In the 1960s he performed on television with

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, and actress whose career spanned seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local r ...

. In 1969 he recorded " Honeysuckle Rose Aquarela Do Brasil" with singer

and performed with her on Swedish television special. During his career he performed on many film soundtracks, such as '' The Pawnbroker'' (1964), ''

'' (1969), '' The Getaway'' (1972), ''

Turkish Delight Turkish delight, or lokum () is a family of confectionery, confections based on a gel of starch and sugar. Premium varieties consist largely of chopped dates, pistachios, hazelnuts or walnuts bound by the gel; traditional varieties are often fl ...

'' (1973), '' Cinderella Liberty'' (1973), ''

'' (1974), '' The Yakuza'' (1974), '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977), ''

The Wiz ''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ...

'' (1978), '' Jean de Florette'' (1986), and ''

French Kiss A French kiss, also known as cataglottism or a tongue kiss, is an amorous kiss in which the participants' tongues extend to touch each other's lips or tongue. A kiss with the tongue stimulates the partner's lips, tongue and mouth, which are sens ...

'' (1995). His closing theme to the popular ''

'' television show was heard for 40 years. 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. He played harmonica on "Night Game" on Paul Simon's 1975 album '' Still Crazy After All These Years''.

1980s and later

During the early 1980s Thielemans was a guest a number of times on ''

Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the first installment of the '' Late Night''. Hosted by David Letterman, it aired from February1, 1982 to June 25, 1993, and was replaced by ...

.'' He performed with the bassist

, and in 1983 he contributed to

's album '' An Innocent Man,'' in the song, "Leave A Tender Moment Alone". A year later, he appeared on the

Julian Lennon Julian Charles John Lennon (born John Charles Julian Lennon; 8 April 1963) is an English musician, photographer, author, and philanthropist. He is the son of Beatles member John Lennon and his first wife Cynthia; Julian is named after his pate ...

song " Too Late for Goodbyes" from the album '' Valotte.'' In 1984, he recorded with

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously a ...

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 "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

. In 1998 he released a French-flavoured album titled ''Chez Toots'' featuring guest singer

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 ...

. 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. Similarly, he recorded "Waltz for Sonny" as a tribute to saxophonist

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded over sixt ...

. In June 1998, at Germany's Jazzbaltica, he paid tribute to

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

who died a month earlier. And during the first Caspian Jazz and Blues Festival in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

in 2002, he performed his recorded version of " Imagine", his tribute to its writer,

. 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.

Later life

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. On 23 January 2009, he joined guitarist

Philip Catherine Philip Catherine (born 27 October 1942) is a Belgian jazz rock guitarist. Biography Philip Catherine was born in London, England, to an English mother and Belgian father, and was raised in Brussels, Belgium. His grandfather was a violinist i ...

on stage at the Liberchies church (Belgium) in memory of the 100th anniversary of the birth of

. In 2012, the

Jazz at Lincoln Center Jazz at Lincoln Center is an organization based in New York City. Part of Lincoln Center, the organization was founded in 1987 and opened at Time Warner Center (now Deutsche Bank Center) in October 2004. The organization seeks to “represent th ...

concerts in New York celebrated Thieleman's 90th birthday with, among others,

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

Eliane Elias Eliane Elias (born 19 March 1960) is a Brazilian jazz pianist, singer, composer and arranger. Biography Elias was born in São Paulo, Brazil, on 19 March 1960. She started studying piano when she was seven, and at age twelve she was transcribing ...

, and

. He performed for the occasion and left the stage standing among his friends. 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. His manager stated that Thielemans "wants to enjoy the rest he deserves." However, he did make one more stage appearance, unannounced, in August 2014, at the Jazz Middelheim Festival in Antwerp.

Death

Thielemans died in

Braine-l'Alleud Braine-l'Alleud (; ; ) is a Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, in the Provinces of Belgium, province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium, about south of Brussels. The municipality consists of the following districts: Braine-l'Alleud ...

, Belgium, at the age of 94. After the announcement, the Netherlands-based jazz and pop orchestra Metropole Orkest, along with American musician

, performed at London's

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

in Thielemans' honor."Toots Thielemans Saturday buried in Terhulpen"
''dS De Standard'', Belgium, 22 August 2016 Another concert was performed at the

Grand-Place The (French language, French, ; "Grand Square"; also used in English) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ; "Big Market") is the central Town square, square of Brussels, Belgium. It is surrounded by opulent Baroque architecture, Baroque guildhalls of ...

, Brussels. Thielemans was buried on 27 August 2016 in La Hulpe, just outside Brussels. Pianist

read a personal message from U.S. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

for his widow, Huguette. 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."

Toots Thielemans Collection

In December 2016, the Music Division of the

Royal Library of Belgium The Royal Library of Belgium ( ; ; , abbreviated ''KBR'' and sometimes nicknamed in French or in Dutch) is the national library of Belgium. The library has a history that goes back to the age of the Duke of Burgundy, Dukes of Burgundy. In ...

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 The (French language, French, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated ULB) is a French-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has three campuses: the ''Solbosch'' campus (in the City of Brussels and Ixelles), the ''Plain ...

and the

Vrije Universiteit Brussel The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Dutch language, Dutch, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated VUB) is a Dutch- and English-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has four campuses: Brussels Humanities, Science and Engine ...

, Belgium. In 2001, he was raised into the

Belgian nobility The Belgian nobility comprises Belgian individuals or families recognized as noble with or without a title of nobility in the Kingdom of Belgium. The Belgian constitution states that no specific privileges are attached to the nobility. History ...

by King Albert II and created ''

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

'' Thielemans for life, this in recognition of his contribution to music. Herewith, he chose the motto ''Be yourself, no more no less''.Etat présent de la noblesse belge, 4th series, 2003 /2014 In 2006, Thielemans was honoured by an all-star tribute concert for him at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

. Pianist

and clarinetist Paquito D'Rivera were among the performers. 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 The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

. He was celebrated by a

Google Doodle Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running annual Bu ...

on his 100th birthday, 29 April 2022. 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.

Titles of Honour

Commander in the Belgian Order of Leopold * BEL Order of Leopold II - Knight BAR

Knight in the Belgian

Order of Leopold II The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Leopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as Sovereign of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgiu ...

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Chevalier ribbon

Knight in the French Order of Arts and Letters * BRA Ordem de Rio Branco Comendador BAR

Commander in the Brazilian

Order of Rio Branco Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * ...

* Created "Baron Thielemans" by Royal Order * Honorary doctorate of the universities ULB and VUB * Thielemans was honorary citizen of

Dinant Dinant () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Namur Province, province of Namur, Belgium. On the shores of river Meuse, in the Ardennes, it lies south-east of Brussels, south ...

, Molenbeek, Sint-Amands and La Hulpe * Brussels Region awarded Thielemans a Bronze Zinneke Award: 2006

Awards

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

nomination for Best Instrumental Theme "Bluesette": 1964 *

DownBeat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

winner Miscellaneous Instruments (harmonica): 1978->1996, 1999->2008, 2011, 2012 * Grammy Award nomination for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album "

Affinity Affinity may refer to: Commerce, finance and law * Affinity (law), kinship by marriage * Affinity analysis, a market research and business management technique * Affinity Credit Union, a Saskatchewan-based credit union * Affinity Equity Pa ...

": 1980 * Grammy Award nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo "Bluesette": 1992 * Zamu Music Lifetime Achievement Award: 1994 * North Sea Jazz Bird Award: 1995 *

Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical The Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical has been awarded since 1959. The award had several minor name changes: * In 1959, the award was known as Best Engineered Record – Non-Classical * In 1960, it was awarded as Best Engineeri ...

" Q's Jook Joint": 1997 * Edison Jazz Career Award: 2001 * German Jazz Trophy: 2004 * Octaves de la Musique Album of the Year "One More for the Road": 2006 * Klara Career Prize: 2007 * NEA Jazz Master Award: 2009 *

Concertgebouw Concertgebouw may refer to one of the following concert halls: * Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Netherlands * Concertgebouw, Bruges, Belgium * Concertgebouw de Vereeniging, Netherlands {{disambiguation Buildings and structures disambiguation pages ...

Jazz Award: 2009 * San Sebastian Jazz Festival Premio Donostiako: 2011 * Honorary member of the Union of Performing Artists: 2011 * French Académie Charles Cros Career Award: 2012 *

Music Industry The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...

Lifetime Achievement Award: 2017 * IFMCA Award nomination - Best Film Music Compilation Album “The Cinema of Quincy Jones”: 2017

Other

* 2 Hohner harmonica types, Toots Mellow Tone and Toots Hard Bopper * A music studio, Studio Toots, was opened in Brussels in 1999 * The Toots Thielemans Jazz Awards in Brussels, from 2007 * Streets in Forrest, Brussels (Rue Toots Thielemans/Toots Thielemansstraat) and Middelburg (Toots Thielemansstraat) * Schools in Brussels, E.F.A. A.R. Toots Thielemans, and Athénée Royal Toots Thielemans * A

Brussels metro The Brussels Metro ( ; ) is a rapid transit system serving a large part of the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It consists of four conventional metro lines and three '' premetro'' lines. The metro-grade lines are M1, M2, M5, and M6 wi ...

station Toots Thielemans * An

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

, (13079) Toots * A limited Belgian 20 € silver coin was issued in 2017 * Statues in Lissewege (2011) and La Hulpe (2018) * The Toots Sessies, music sessions by different artists organized by VRT from 2020 *On 29 April 2022,

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

celebrated Toots Thielemans' 100th birthday with a

Discography

As leader

* ''The Sound'' ( Columbia, 1955) * '' Man Bites Harmonica!'' ( Riverside, 1958) * ''Time Out for Toots'' (

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

, 1958) * ''The Soul of Toots Thielemans'' with Ray Bryant (

Signature A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, Handwriting, handwritt ...

, 1960) * ''Blues for Flirter (aka Try a Little Tenderness)'' (

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

, 1961) * ''Road to Romance'' with Orchestra Directed by Kurt Edelhagen (Polydor, 1961) * ''The Romantic Sounds of Toots Thielemans'' (

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

, 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 ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! Records, Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquire ...

, 1964) * ''Too Much! Toots!'' (

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

, 1965) * ''Contrasts'' (

Command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * command (Unix), a Unix command * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on A ...

, 1966) * ''Toots'' (Command, 1968) * ''Toots on Tour'' (Philips, 1968) * '' Honeysuckle Rose Aquarela Do Brasil'' (aka Elis & Toots) with

(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) Limetree, 1996)">Timeless_Records.html" ;"title="eissued with 2 bonus tracks as Two Generations (Timeless Records">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">Sonet Records">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 (singer), 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 The term inner city (also called the hood) has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Soc ...

, 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 The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

, 1985) * ''Just Friends'' with Paul Kuhn (

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

, 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 Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the ...

, 1988) * ''Romantic Gala'' (Dino Music, 1988) * ''Rosinha De Valença-Flavio Faria'' with Rosinha De Valença (RGE, 1989) * ''Toots Thielemans in Tokyo'' (

Denon is a Japanese electronics company dealing with audio equipment. The Denon brand came from a merger of Denki Onkyo (not to be confused with the other Onkyo) and others in 1939. It originally started as Nippon Chikuonki Shoukai in 1910 by Freder ...

, 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 Private Music was an American independent record label founded in 1984 by musician Peter Baumann as a "home for instrumental music". Baumann signed Ravi Shankar, Yanni, Suzanne Ciani, Andy Summers, Patrick O'Hearn, Leo Kottke, and his for ...

, 1992) * ''Martial Solal Toots Thielemans'' with Martial Solal (

Erato In Greek mythology, Erato (; ) is one of the Greek Muses, the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. The name would mean "desired" or "lovely", if derived from the same root as Eros, as Apollonius of Rhodes playfully sugge ...

, 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 Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, 1994) * ''East Coast West Coast'' (Private Music, 1994) * ''Chez Toots'' (Private Music, 1998) * ''Chet & Toots'' with Åke Johansson Trio and

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

(

Dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

, 1998) * ''Accentuate the Positive'' with Joe Kennedy Jr. (CAP, 1998) * ''The Live Takes Volume 1'' (

Narada Narada (, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage-divinity, famous in Hinduism, Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of the Manasputra, mind-created children of Brahma, the creator ...

, 2000) * ''Toots Thielemans and Kenny Werner'' ( Verve, 2001) * ''This Heart Of Mine'' with Jackie Ryan and

Ernie Watts Ernest James Watts (born October 23, 1945) is an American jazz and R&B saxophonist who plays soprano, alto, and tenor saxophone. He has worked with Charlie Haden's Quartet West and toured with the Rolling Stones. On Frank Zappa's album '' ...

(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 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 ...

(Smith & Co, 2011) * ''Toots 90'' (Challenge Jazz, 2012) * ''What a Wonderful World'' (Challenge Records, 2012) * ''Airegin'' (Vinyl Passion, 2014)

As sideman

With Jay Anderson * '' Local Color'' ( DMP, 1994) With

Brook Benton Benjamin Franklin Peay (September 19, 1931 – April 9, 1988), known professionally as Brook Benton, was an American singer and songwriter whose music transcended rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and pop music genres in the 1950s and 1960s, with ...

* ''Brook Benton Today'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

, 1970) With Jay Berliner, Gene Bertoncini and Richard Resnicoff * ''

The Guitar Session ''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. ''T ...

'' (Philips, 1977) With

The Brothers Johnson The Brothers Johnson was an American funk and R&B band consisting of the American brothers George ("Lightnin' Licks") and Louis E. Johnson ("Thunder Thumbs"). They achieved their greatest success from the mid-1970s to early 1980s, with three ...

* '' Look Out for #1'' (A&M Records, 1976) With

* ''End of August'' (WEA, 1982) With

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 ...

* '' A Message from the People'' (ABC, 1972) With

* '' Stardust'' ( Elektra, 1996) With

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...

* '' Aerie'' (

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

, 1971) * '' Farewell Andromeda'' (RCA, 1973) With Rick Derringer * '' All American Boy'' (Blue Sky, 1973) With

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress who achieved recognition in an episode of the reality television series ''The Big Time (TV series), The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to gain a ...

* '' No Sound But a Heart'' ( EMI, 1987) With

* ''

Illusions An illusion is a distortion of the senses, which can reveal how the mind normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Although illusions distort the human perception of reality, they are generally shared by most people. Illusions may ...

'' (Denon, 1986) * '' Bossa Nova Stories'' (

Blue Note Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...

, 2008) With

* ''

'' (

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

, 1979) With Michael Franks * ''

Passionfruit ''Passiflora edulis'', commonly known as passion fruit, is a vine species of passion flower native to the region of southern Brazil through Paraguay to northern Argentina. It is cultivated commercially in tropical and subtropical areas for its ...

'' (Warner Bros., 1983) With

Richard Galliano Richard Galliano (born 12 December 1950, Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes) is a French accordionist of Italian heritage. Allmusic biography/ref> Biography He was drawn to music at an early age, starting with the accordion at 4, influenced by his father ...

* '' Laurita'' ( Dreyfus Records, 1995) With

* '' Digital at Montreux, 1980'' (Pablo, 1980) With

Lesley Gore Lesley Gore (born Lesley Sue Goldstein, May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015) was an American singer and songwriter. At the age of 16, she recorded her first hit song " It's My Party", a US number one in 1963. She follow ...

* ''Love Me By Name'' (A&M, 1976) With

Urbie Green Urban Clifford "Urbie" Green (August 8, 1926 – December 31, 2018) was an American jazz trombonist who toured with Woody Herman, Gene Krupa, Jan Savitt, and Frankie Carle. He played on over 250 recordings and released more than twenty albums a ...

* '' The Fox'' ( CTI, 1976) With

Henry Gross Henry Gross (born April 1, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter best known for his association with the group Sha Na Na and for his hit record, hit song, "Shannon (song), Shannon". Gross is considered a one-hit wonder artist; none of his ot ...

* ''Love Is the Stuff'' (Lifesong, 1978) With

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years and covered film, television and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of the C ...

* '' We'll Be Together Again'' (Blue Note, 1994) With

*'' I Remember Miles'' (Verve, 1998) With

James Ingram James Edward Ingram (February 16, 1952 – January 29, 2019) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He was a two-time Grammy Award-winner and a two-time Academy Award nominee for Best Original Song. After beginning his career ...

* '' It's Real'' (Warner Bros., 1989) With

* '' An Innocent Man'' (Columbia, 1983) With

* ''

Quincy Jones Explores the Music of Henry Mancini ''Quincy Jones Explores the Music of Henry Mancini'' is an album by Quincy Jones that contains music composed by Henry Mancini. Track listing All music composed by Henry Mancini, lyricists indicated # "Baby Elephant Walk" – 2:49 # "Charade ( ...

'' ( Mercury, 1964) * '' The Pawnbroker'' (Mercury, 1964) * '' Walk, Don't Run'' ( Mainstream, 1966) * '' Walking in Space'' (A&M, 1969) * '' Gula Matari'' (A&M, 1970) * '' Smackwater Jack'' (A&M, 1971) * '' You've Got It Bad Girl'' (A&M, 1973) * '' Mellow Madness'' (A&M, 1975) * '' The Dude'' (A&M, 1981) * '' Q's Jook Joint'' ( Qwest, 1995) With Fumio Karashima * ''Rencontre'' (Polydor, 1999) With

James Last James Last (, ; born Hans Last; 17 April 1929 – 9 June 2015) was a German composer and big band leader of the James Last Orchestra. Initially a jazz bassist, his trademark "happy music" made his numerous albums best-sellers in Germany and ...

* '' Theme from Der Landarzt'' (Polydor, 1987) With

* '' Blues Cross Country'' (Capitol, 1962) * '' Somethin' Groovy!'' (Capitol, 1967) With

* '' Valotte'' (Atlantic, 1984) With Joe Lovano * '' Flights of Fancy: Trio Fascination Edition Two'' (Blue Note, 2001) With

Melanie Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek language, Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark".Gather Me'' (

Neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...

, 1971) * ''As I See It Now'' (Neighborhood, 1975) With

* '' Secret Story'' ( Geffen, 1992) With

Laura Nyro Laura Nyro ( ; born Laura Nigro; October 18, 1947 – April 8, 1997) was an American songwriter and singer. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' (1968) and ''Ne ...

* '' More Than a New Discovery'' (Verve, 1967) With

Sally Oldfield Sally Patricia Oldfield (born 3 August 1947) is an English singer-songwriter. She is the sister of composers Mike and Terry Oldfield. Early life Born in Dublin, Ireland, Oldfield was raised in the Roman Catholic faith of her mother, Maureen ...

* ''Instincts'' (CBS, 1988) With

* ''

Word of Mouth Word of mouth is the passing of information from person to person using oral communication, which could be as simple as telling someone the time of day. Storytelling is a common form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others a ...

'' (Warner Bros., 1981) With

* '' The Oscar Peterson Big 6 at Montreux'' ( Pablo, 1975) * '' Live at the North Sea Jazz Festival, 1980'' (Pablo, 1980) With

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of the Motown group Commodores; writing and recor ...

* '' Louder Than Words'' (Mercury, 1996) With Diane Schuur * ''

Love Songs A love song is a song about love, falling in love, broken heart, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. Love songs can be found in a variety of different music genres. They can come in various formats, from sa ...

'' ( GRP, 1993) With

and Dakota Staton * '' In the Night'' (Capitol, 1958) With

* ''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

* '' Still Crazy After All These Years'' (Columbia, 1975) With

* '' The World We Knew'' (Reprise, 1967) With Sivuca * ''Chiko's Bar'' (Sonet, 1985) With

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

* '' A Christmas Album'' (Hallmark, 2004) * '' James Taylor at Christmas'' (Columbia, 2006) With

* '' Songs of The Beatles'' (Atlantic, 1981) With

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, model, producer and dancer. She gained recognition as the first Black woman to win the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She would later Vanes ...

* '' The Sweetest Days'' (Mercury, 1994) With Aziza Mustafa Zadeh * ''Jazziza'' (Columbia, 1997)

References

External links

* *
Official MySpace page

NEA Jazz Masters

Toots Thielemans Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2005) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thielemans, Toots 1922 births 2016 deaths 20th-century guitarists 20th-century Belgian male musicians 21st-century Belgian guitarists Belgian barons Bebop harmonica players Belgian emigrants to the United States Belgian expatriates in the United States Belgian jazz guitarists Belgian jazz harmonica players Brazilian jazz (genre) harmonica players Jazz harmonica players Latin jazz harmonica players Mainstream jazz harmonica players Musicians from Brussels People from Uccle Private Music artists Riverside Records artists Belgian whistlers EmArcy Records artists Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres NEA Jazz Masters

Early years

Career

1940s–1950s

1960s–1970s

1980s and later

Later life

Death

Toots Thielemans Collection

Honours and awards

Titles of Honour

Awards

Other

Discography

As leader

As sideman

References

Further reading

External links