Concert in homage to Toots Thielemans celebrated the meeting of Brazilian and Belgian cultures

The Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden and the General Consulate of Belgium in Rio de Janeiro jointly held, on Wednesday evening, 12/4, the institutional promotion event Toots Thielemans Tribute Concert, at the RiHappy Ecovilla theater. The event for guests was attended by representatives of several consulates and also by partners, employees and collaborators of the two institutions.

The Consul General of Belgium, Daniel Dargent, spoke about the importance of the work and legacy of Belgian composer and performer Toots Thielemans (1922-2016). The substitute president of the Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro, Eliezer de Sousa Nunes, thanked all the staff and collaborators of the Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro, the partners and Ecovilla. He also announced a new partnership with the Alliança group for the projects of the Social-Environmental Responsibility Center (CRS) of the Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro. Eliezer took the opportunity to remember and pay homage to João Carlos da Silva, who created and was in charge of the CRS for thirty years, and who passed away recently.

The concert started with special guest Ricardo Bacelar, pianist, singer, composer, and honorary consul of Belgium in Fortaleza (CE). He performed songs by Villa-Lobos, Belchior, and Milton Nascimento, among others.

Next, the group formed by Dutch pianist Mike Del Ferro, harmonica player Gabriel Grossi, drummer Marcio Bahia, and bassist André Vasconcellos enchanted the audience with a repertoire of instrumental jazz, playing pieces by Toots Thielemans or that were part of the musician's repertoire, and also his own compositions.

Toots Thielemans excelled in the use of the harmonica, especially in jazz. He began his career playing with Benny Goodman's band (USA), and later formed his own group. In Brazil, his best known album is "Aquarela do Brasil", from 1969, in partnership with Elis Regina. He has also recorded and performed with Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Bill Evans, Dizzy Gillespie, Kenny Werner, Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius, Mina Mazzini, Quincy Jones, George Shearing, Natalie Cole, Billy Joel, Paul Simon and Paquito D'Rivera.