Toots Thielemans European Quartet

Ninety Years

Challenge Records CHR70167

Toots Thielemans (harmonica) Karel Boehlee (p, synth) Hein Van de Geyn (b) Hans Van Oosterhout (d). Live in 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2011 in various countries (not specified).

Waltz For Sonny/The Dragon/Sno Peas/Wave/Dat Mistige Rooie Beest/In Your Own Sweet Way/What A Wonderful World/One Note Samba/The Dolphin/I Do It For Your Love/Old Friend TT 55:40

Plus a DVD recorded in Tokyo, Japan in 2011 with same personnel - tunes consist of Autumn Leaves/Turks Fruit/Midnight Cowboy/Saint Thomas/ Bluesette/What A Wonderful World. No total time given.

This is indeed a marvelous recording by an artist who is now 90 years old and still performing at a very high level. The other three members of this quartet have been with him for a long time. The drummer lives in Breda, Holland while the bass player is from Scarborough, South Africa and the keyboard artist hails from Osnabruck, Germany. How is that for geographic distribution? I am fascinated by every track on this disc. Waltz For Sonny is a tip of the hat to Sonny Rollins while What A Wonderful World is a tribute to Louis Armstrong. …