海角大神

Jazz musician Toots Thielemans, who played the harmonica, has died.聽

Mr. Thielemans鈥� work appeared on such well-known pieces of music as the opening credits for the children鈥檚 program 鈥淪esame Street鈥� and the soundtrack for the movie 鈥淢idnight Cowboy.鈥澛�

He recorded the song 鈥淏luesette鈥� in 1961 and the song became well-known also.聽

According to The New York Times, Quincy Jones called Thielemans 鈥渙ne of the greatest musicians of our time.鈥澛�

The Belgian musician鈥檚 full name was Jean-Baptiste Fr茅d茅ric Isidore Thielemans and he worked with Benny Goodman on a concert tour of Europe in 1950, which Associated Press writer Lorne Cook calls his 鈥渋nternational breakthrough.鈥� When he came to America in 1952, he became part of jazz musician Charlie Parker鈥檚 All Stars.聽

Thielemans was awarded the Jazz Master Award in 2009 by the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts.聽

According to the AP, the royal family of Belgium said that it is 鈥渄eeply moved by (the) passing away of Toots Thielemans, one of the greatest jazzmen.鈥� King Albert II had bestowed on Thielemans a title of baron in 2001.聽

海角大神 writer Amy Duncan noted that Thielemans鈥� selection of instrument was an unusual one in the jazz genre.

鈥淓very now and then, in the world of jazz, there emerges an instrumentalist who has chosen not to play the usual piano, trumpet, saxophone, drums, bass fiddle, guitar, and so on,鈥� Ms. Duncan wrote. 鈥淭oots Thielemans picked the harmonica, of all things.鈥� Yet Thielemans 鈥渉as done wonders with it,鈥� she wrote at the time.

Peter Keepnews of The New York Times also noted that Thielemans鈥� harmonica was far from the norm.聽

鈥淭hielemans [was] one of the only musicians to have a successful career as a jazz harmonica player,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淗is distinctive sound on the chromatic harmonica was Mr. Thielemans鈥檚 primary claim to fame and, especially, to fortune.鈥�