Outcome of the Toots Challenge
Last Saturday, 11 nominees of the Toots Challenge presented their submission to a jury in the concert hall of the MIM. The jury was composed of Olivier Poumay (harmonicist), Veerle Van de Poel (Legacy of Toots Thielemans vzw), Hugo Rodriguez (musicologist at KBR) and Géry Dumoulin (in charge of the windinstruments at MIM).
The winner is the 22-year old Rutger Mathys from Evergem. He plays the chromatic harmonica and just obtained his bachelor degree at the Rotterdam Conservatory of Music. He will soon, with the help of the Legacy of Toots Thielemans, be seen and heard on a Belgian stage surrounded by a selection of musicians. The duo Szabadsag also caught the jury's special attention and will perform at the MIM this summer/autumn.
You can watch the submissions of all the nominees here.
Rutger Mathys, winner of the Toots Challenge
Toots Challenge
One of the greatest Belgian musicians of all time was born 100 years ago in Brussels. He conquered the international jazz scene and left a great impression everywhere ... with his musicality, his inspiring and warm personality.
What does he mean today for musicians of different generations? Do the musicians who were born when he was already very old, or even no longer with us, still know him? We want to explore this by challenging them to work with his music and share their own interpretation with the widest possible audience!
