The way in which Jean "Toots" Thielemans (1922-2016) and his harmonica have become part of Dutch culture, almost makes you forget that he really comes from Belgium. Toots is present in all forms of the Dutch media, from the theme of the TV series
Baantjer to the soundtrack of the film
Turks Fruit and guest appearances with many popular Dutch artists. The reason for his worldwide fame is simple:
Thielemans was the best harmonica player in the world. Shortly after the war, Toots left for the United States, where he played with almost all jazz greats. Includes Benny Goodman, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker and Stevie Wonder were happy to call on Thielemans. Yet it was not the first and only instrument he played; he started playing the accordion at the age of three (!) and played the guitar at a later age. Yet it is the harmonica that ultimately brought him fame and the list of guest appearances in which he can demonstrate his style is immeasurably large. In 1995 he received the Bird Award.more