Toots Thielemans

Toots Thielemans, who was closing this year’s edition of Brosella festival, has been my discovery of the week. He is an old man of 84, a living legend of jazz, and the best harmonica player I have ever seen (actually heard). A bruxellois himself (born at Les Marolles; as he said, “plus bruxellois tu meurres”), he has been living in the US since the 50s. He has played with everybody you can imagine, travelled all around the world and his harmonica has also been in many famous films. His music was fabulous, gorgeous, amazing, …. and the character himself, such a sweet man … He told us so many stories in his mixture of French, Dutch and English (he didn’t seem capable of sticking to only one language), and none of them was boring. He seems one of those men who have lived so much, who have made history, but that are so down to earth and natural about it that you can listen to them for hours. I like people like him, young in spirit, cheerful and refreshing, 84 and of course not retired. People like him don’t retire. They just keep playing, travelling, meeting people, and that until the day they die.

He was accompanied by three young musicians under 30, and they all delighted us with lots of good jazz stuff. Also in the program, a song composed by him and dedicated to his wife (to whom he declared his love from the stage), and the most beautiful version ever of “ne me quite pas” with his incredible crying harmonica.