It's no secret that Jean 'Toots' Thielemans is the preeminent exponent of the harmonica in jazz. Thielemans took a simple instrument with folkloric baggage and brought it into the contemporary jazz ensemble, both large and small. However, non-jazz audiences are familiar with Toots also. Maybe he touched them with his mournful playing on the soundtracks of such movies as "Midnight Cowboy" and "Sugarland Express." Maybe Thielemans spoke to the child in them through his performance of the "Sesame Street" theme, which he also wrote. No matter what the medium, Toots Thielemans knows how to emotionally connect with listeners.
Maybe his ¨Bluesette¨ is one of the most songs ever composed.
What is it about Toots that can move people? "A tear comes quickly to me," confesses the 86-year-old native of Brussels, Belgium. "That's the way my music is, I guess." It is the quality of being able to express the sweet and the bitter that is stamped onto Thielemans' playing and has made him a favorite worldwide.
Talk about the musical carrier of Toots is quite unesful.
He pass trough the musical history of the XX century, unique and special, as a point of reference for anyone who loves music. Harmonicist or not.
Edith Piaf, Charles Trenet, Benny Goodman, Charlie Parker, Quincy Jones, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Dizzy Gilespie, Oscar Peterson, Ivan Lins, Djavan, Gilberto Gil, Milton Nascimento, Jaco Pastorius.
His colleagues.

Today, 86 years old, with over 230 concerts worldwide on 2006, Toots is one of the last myths that invented this music and brought it into the XXI century.

¨ I can say without hesitation that Toots is one of the greatest musicians of our time. On his instrument he ranks with the best that jazz has ever produced.
He goes for the heart and makes you cry.
We have worked together more times than I can count and he always keeps me coming back for more ..."