The ‘Toots’ Project
Thursday 12th July 2018
The Toots Project is a group committed to celebrating the music of the great Belgian jazz musician - Toots Thielemans. Toots was a harmonica and guitar player who worked with THE greatest players in the history of the music, and his death in 2016 marked the passing of one of the most inventive players in jazz.
The Toots Project began in 2016, putting on a concert, endorsed by Thielemans himself, shortly before he died. Harmonica maestro Phil Hopkins joins some of the UK’s most inventive jazz musicians to explore the eclectic repertoire of Toots. Taking the audience on what amounts to a journey through popular music of the last 50 years, the setlist ranges from well-known themes to Sesame Street and Midnight Cowboy, Thielemans’ own composition Bluesette (which quickly became a jazz standard), and the results of famous collaborations with Benny Goodman, Paul Simon, Bill Evans and many others.
In addition to Phil Hopkins, the band features some stellar musicians such as Jonathan Gee (piano), Yaron Stavi (bass), Jeremy Shoham (saxes) and Rick Finlay (drums). It is a thoroughly happening band - great music, enthralling solos - what's more to like?