Harmonica legend Toots Thielemans celebrates his 90th birthday with European Quartet on his latest release by Challenge Records titled 90 Years. This great CD features unique and previously unreleased live recordings taken from Thielemans’ latest tours around the world. The set also comes with a DVD that contains select materials from his most recent concert in Japan!
The songs on Disc One are both rare and well-known classics including “Waltz For Sonny,” “The Dragon,” “What A Wonderful World,” and “One Note Samba.” The DVD showcases Thielemans performing “Autumn Leaves,” “Midnight Cowboy,” and “Bluesette” plus three other songs. For someone who is 90 years old and playing a harmonica, listeners would never know that Thielemans is up in age because his breathing and technique are both still amazing.
The master is joined by Karel Boehlee on piano and synthesizer, Hein Van de Geyn on double bass, and Hans van Oosterhout on drums. Their exemplary accompaniment is in the pocket and brings out the best in the melodies that Thielemans plays on harmonica. This is an exciting live program that should be in your collection.
Reprinted with permission of…
