Jean “Toots” Thielemans was born in Brussels in 1922, but his special relationship with Antwerp was solidified by his grandparents, who lived there, and by his mother, who was born there. “I started playing accordion at the age of three,” he tells me from home in Belgium after a spate of festival appearances this summer. “Next I studied the accordion – but when I heard the harmonica, I made my decision.”

During the Second World War, the young Thielemans picked up influences from the great jazz musicians. Inspired by Charlie Parker and Django Reinhardt, he decided to pursue a career in jazz. “I was first asked to play guitar with the Benny Goodman’s Kings of Swing orchestra in 1950,” he explains. “I got my nickname from Toots Mondello, who was playing the first alto saxophone with Benny Goodman. I met Mondello during the concerts and decided to borrow the nickname because ‘Jean Thielemans’ just doesn’t swing.”

With Benny Goodman, Toots toured all over Europe. “We even played in Antwerp but, at that time, I passed absolutely unnoticed,” he says with a sigh. “In Sweden they thought I was a fantastic musician – that’s where I harvested my first applause. Then came the European tour, the big venues, the London Palladium.”

Toots eventually acquired working papers to go to the US and joined Charlie Parker’s All Stars in 1952. “I met Charlie Parker at the Paris Jazz Festival in 1947. He remembered me and asked me to join him,” he says. “Then I auditioned for George Shearing, which led into a long association with the George Shearing Quintet.”

Finally, in 1962, he made a breakthrough with his song “Bluesette”. This marked the debut of Toots’ signature sound, combining guitar and whistling. “I was whistling the song during rehearsals and added a microphone when we recorded it – it’s very simple,” he says, matter of factly. The song became an international jazz standard that Toots still performs on stage.

In 1969, Toots was asked to perform a harmonica solo for the film score of Midnight Cowboy. It was a career-altering decision. Single-handedly making the harmonica cool again, he contributed to several film soundtracks, from The Getaway and Sugarland Express to the Flemish TV series Witse.

In his seemingly never-ending career, Toots has played with pretty much every jazz legend. “The list is too long to print,” he admits, but he emphasies his collaboration with the late American bass player Jaco Pastorius, who was famously killed by a club manager in 1987. “We worked together for a long time – we were good friends,” says Toots.

At 88, Toots still remains open to new musical influences. I the early 1990s, he recorded the first of two Brasil Project albums. !e opening track of the first Brasil album, “Começar de Novo” is featured on the new live album.

On the occasion of Toot’s 70th anniversary, the famous American musician and producer Quincy Jones came to congratulate the ketje, or little kid, from Brussels. !eir collaboration dates back to the early 1960s, delivering standards like “Flirt”, “Hummin’” and the unforgettable “Killer Joe”. “I met Quincy when he first came to New York,” Toots remembers. “I was already in the Big Apple then, and we played a lot together.”

Despite his long career as a professional musician, Toots isn’t that interested in the fine details of the recording process, which, like Toots, have constantly evolved over the years – from the old vintage 45 rpm vinyl to the latest in mp3 technology. “!e playing remains the same,” he notes. “I’m not a technical guy, really.” But he does in fact offer an observation. “!e technical possibilities have increased enormously, and today you can cut a track in any room – even a bedroom – since the equipment is very small and compact.” But still, he says, “It all depends on how accurate the orchestra is.”

A similar attitude is echoed when Toots is asked about his role as legendary jazz musician, covered and sampled by thousands of musicians. “Musicians come and ask me things about my music. What I can do is play a tune and afterwards demonstrate how I did it.”

With Toots Thielemans: European Quartet Live, Toots marks yet another step in his career. He is accompanied by Karel Boehlee (piano), Hans Van Oosterhout (drums) and Hein Van de Geyn (double bass), all Dutch musicians. “This album rounds up the songs we have been playing over the last five years,” says Toots. “I plan to cool down things right now, but then there’s the summer season with lots of festivals, and we’re o" again.”

The album also takes the audience on a trip through Toots’ musical career, from the early days of “Bluesette”, to the beautiful Gershwin compositions like “Summertime”, to the Brasil project and the film and television scores. Meanwhile, downstairs, Toot’s piano is being tuned. !e instrument is kept in condition for occasional moments with fellow musicians.

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