Balmy night in Ostend for TAZ or the Theater Aan Zee festival, on our North Sea coast. Out to see 87-year old Jean “Toots” Thielemans, harmonica player extraordinaire. Karel Boehlee on piano, Toots with harmonica on the high chair, Hein Van de Geyn on bass, and Hans Van Oosterhout on drums.
A tent at Ostend port and station, filled with a warm crowd which burst into applause from the first note. Rightly so; Toots is able to mo! ve his musicians to tears or to keep ‘em on their toes, and played with what is probably his most skilled combo to date: the Karel Boehlee Trio. Used to playing together, playful, skillful, able to follow suit like the master’s shadow or pick up on every whimsical improvization.
I bumped into cousin R. who was there with friends. And I got a tip from people around me for a meal afterwards: I finally had my fish. One of those Ostend institutions with a French name where plentiful waiters smother you silly with their attention.
No comments:
Post a Comment