Three versions of the same composition, played by different artists.
This year, Belgian and world-famous jazz musician Jean “Toots” Thielemans would have turned 100.
A memorable event, one that will help us remember the brilliance of Toots and hopefully continue to introduce new generations to his wonderful music. On guitar, sometimes whistling himself and of course on harmonica. Toots was and is superior to the parties and styles. Millions of Dutchmen and Belgians are, of course, familiar with Rogier van Otterloo’s music from Turks Fruit and, in particular, the first notes of That Misty Red Beast. There, besides Toots on harmonica, we also hear the unforgettable Fender Rhodes electric piano, played by just such a maestro but unfortunately much less well known. This was Rob Franken, who died in 1983 at the age of 42. Toots and Rob had a more than special connection musically speaking. Now, 59 lost recordings of Toots with Franken have been discovered and fortunately, the Netherlands Jazz Archive has decided to release these recordings on a beautiful 3-CD set. They were recordings intended as so-called Fumu; an initiative by Philips to create functional music, i.e. to be used from lifts to restaurants. Immediately upon listening to the rediscovered recordings, it became clear that although it can be used for this purpose, it is primarily superior music by both men. In this show, we will pay attention to these recordings and honour both Toots and Rob.
Host and sound engineer: Arjan Huizer
