Toots Thielemans - Captured Alive
Harmonica – Toots Thielemans
Bass – Cecil McBee [click here to see more vinyl featuring Cecil McBee]
Drums – Freddie Waits
Piano – Joanne Brackeen
Written by Toots Thielemans (A3), Henry Mancini (A1), Johnny Mercer (A1), Johnny Mandel (A2), Arthur Hamilton (A2), Sonny Rollins (A4), Joanne Brackeen (B1, B4), Billy Strayhorn (B2), Duke Ellington (B2), John Coltrane (B3)
1 LP, standard sleeve
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33 RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : unspecified (USA)
Label : Candid
Original Label : Choice
Recorded at Macdonald Studios, Sea Cliff, N.Y., 16th September 1974
Recorded by John Woram
Produced by Gerry Macdonald
Remastered by Alex McCollough at True East Mastering, Nashville, TN
Lacquer cut by Jeff Powell
Reissued in December 2023
Tracks :
Side A:
- Days of Wine & Roses
- I Never Told You
- Dr. Pretty
- Airegin
Side B:
- Images
- Day Dream
- Giant Steps
- Snooze
Reviews :
NEA Jazz Master, Toots Thielemans, is widely considered to be the preeminent jazz harmonica player. It is safe to say that before him, the harmonica in jazz was simply not done, and Thielemans can be credited with legitimizing the instrument in the genre.
Born in Brussels, Belgium in 1922, Thielemans excelled on accordion as a small child before picking up the guitar as a teenager after hearing Django Reinhardt. Along the way, he taught himself to play harmonica as a hobby. In 1948, during a visit to the U.S., he sat in on guitar with a jazz group at small club in New York and was "discovered." Engagements soon followed with the likes of Benny Goodman, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones and more. As the story goes, in response to a musicians' union restriction, Thielemans was forbidden to play guitar at a gig. So, he pulled out his harmonica. The rest, as they say, is history. He went on to have a long and prolific career on the instrument, as both a band leader and session musician. With his unique sound, he became a go-to for film scores in the 1970s (The Pawn Broker, Midnight Cowboy). Perhaps most notably, Thielemans is unconsciously known to generations for having played the melody on Sesame Street's famous closing theme.
Organized as a purely jazz session, the date here prominently features a young Joanne Brackeen on piano. It is perhaps Brackeen's presence that makes this set so interesting. As an avant-garde player she provides the vehicle for Thielemas to explore more advanced ideas. The album covers a wide range of material, including two originals by Brackeen, alongside standards by Coltrane, Ellington, Mercer and Mancini.
Ratings :
AllMusic : 4.5 / 5 ; Discogs : 4.38 / 5