You've probably heard of Toots Thielemans. If you haven't, you have heard his harp playing if you ever saw Midnight Cowboy, The Getaway, Sugarland Express, Cinderella Liberty, Turks Fruit, Jean de Florette… Toots played concerts and made recordings with musicians like George Shearing, Ella Fitzgerald, Quincy Jones, Bill Evans, Jaco Pastorius, Natalie Cole, Pat Metheny, Paul Simon, Billy Joel… he was even the harmonica player on the opening Sesame Street theme. He is arguably the most famous harmonica player in the world.
So when "his people called my people" my ears perked up. His sound guy, Chris Weeda, learned of my products from a customer of mine in Amsterdam. Chris knew that at age 89, Toots' hearing isn't what it once was, nor is his strength. He thought a shorter, lighter microphone with a volume control - the Ultimate 58- might be just the ticket, so we agreed to give it a try. Toots has now performed with it on two continents and he gives it a big thumbs up. I'll have a quote from him later. Toots has a cool signature, and I thought it would be nice to engrave it on the mic:
Here is a video of him performing with it in Japan last week:
This is fantastic news Greg ! Well Done. It's also cool that another great jazz chrom player Wim Dijkgraaf uses one of your Ultimate 58s. 8) ---------- KiwiRick http://www.richardshanksart.com
That's great, Greg - and you're rightfully proud! If you get to meet Toots, you'll find he can be extremely charming and a delightful story teller when the mood strikes him.
He's been a longtime dedicated 58 user- even in studios that have all sorts of high-end tube, ribbon, and large-diaphragm condensors. So this is a great fit between a great artist and a great product.
Last Edited by on Oct 24, 2011 9:15 AM
congragulations Greg and I hope more orders come in via his using it! Toots is one of the giants. Walter ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
Congratulations, Greg. I'm glad I got my estimate before the big announcement. I shipped my mic to you this morning and can't wait to join this elite club...at least as a mic owner ;)
Congrats Greg. One of my first LP's with chromatic on it was Toots at Montreux. I little know fact is that Toots wrote "Bluesette", I tune he used to whistle, and was also the theme song to the TV show "Mannix". I use the mic you made for me, all the time!
Toots did write Bluesette (and still plays it on harmonica now that he no longer whistles onstage).
But the Mannix theme is a completely different tune. It has an opening rhythm vamp similar to Bluesette, but the tune was written by jazz composer Lalo Schifrin.
Here's Bluesette played straight (and dreamy) about 1980: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euQD7_bBU84
Played with the opening vamp, more lively and less straight (2009) - note the long stick of the stock SM-58: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKnG_9q4crA
You designed and built innovative quality microphones, and now continue to receive the recognition you deserve in the form most appreciated: microphones purchased by professionals who care about how they sound.
Winslow, You're right! I guess the reason I've always thought they were the same is I remember seeing Mike Conners on Steve Allen, and as he walked on stage the "whistled" version of Bluesette was being played. BTW, when I was doing my search, there were several links who claimed Shifrin was heavily influenced by Bluesette. Personally, I think they sound very similar.
@Pluto - Hmm, yeah, I can hear a bunch of little similarities poking out - the opening vamp, the way the harmony shifts, even little fragments of melody.
Interestingly, the harmonic structure of "Bluesette" has a precedent in a tune written by jazz pianist Ray Bryant, with whom Toots recorded in 1954-55, called "Blues Changes." No melodic similarity, but the unique chord structure, with one or two differences, is unmistakeable.
Congratulations, Greg. Toots is a great player - 'Only Trust your Heart' was the album that made me pick up a harp in the first place (not that I can play any jazz!)
Nothing but the best for the best. What a terrific testament to the high quality and suitability of the Blows Me Away Ultimate series mics. Keep up the good work!
I don't believe it.......my mic from Greg has just arrived and my wife won't let me open it until Christmas....how cruel is that!!!!!! Lets see if I can post up the photos while I wait.....grrrrrrrrrrrrr! http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=186080841470062&set=a.112269238851223.18093.100002044431074&type=1&ref=nf http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=186080251470121&set=a.112269238851223.18093.100002044431074&type=1&ref=nf
As you can see in this video of Toots and Jaco Pastorius from years back, Toots probably wishes he'd had one of your mics way back in the day, Greg. I kinda laugh each time I watch this when Toots has that irritated look about him, moving away from the amplifier and telling the sound guy to turn it down.
---------- Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by on Oct 26, 2011 7:38 AM
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=186080841470062&set=a.112269238851223.18093.100002044431074&type=1&ref=nf