Soul Station

Jean-Baptiste "Toots" Thielemans was part of the landscape for the greater part of jazz history, from the early 40s until 2016, the year of his disappearance. Belgian by birth, American by naturalization, Toots was first a guitarist, before his inimitable style led him to be considered the greatest harmonica player (and whistler) in jazz, accompanying the greatest: Count Basie, Lester Young or Billie Holiday, and then Elis Regina or Bill Evans. This set prepared by Olivier Julien puts the spotlight on the first recordings he made as a leader, among them "The Sound" and "Man Bites Harmonica". They were his first masterpieces, and they made him a legend.