Brussels: Legendary jazz harmonica player Toots Thielemans died Monday in Belgium at the age of 94, Belgian media reported.
Broadcaster RTL reported that his manager, Veerle Van de Poel, said "there were no complications. He died of old age, his body was simply worn out."
Van de Poel could not be reached immediately for confirmation. Thielemans was hospitalized last month after a fall, and reportedly died in his sleep.
Jean-Baptiste Frederic Isidore Thielemans was a legend in his own right but also played with jazz greats Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald and Miles Davis as well as mainstream stars like Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Billy Joel.
Born in Brussels on April 29, in 1922, Thielemans started playing the harmonica as a hobby and got "contaminated" by the jazz virus during the German occupation, according to his website.
His first international breakthrough came in 1950 when he joined Benny Goodman on a European concert tour. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1952, joining Charlie Parker's All Stars.
His harmonica solos figure on many film scores, including "Midnight Cowboy," ''The Getaway" and "Sugarland Express", but also on the theme music to the popular children's series, "Sesame Street."
Thielemans, who also played guitar, was honored by Belgium's royal family in 2001, when King Albert II gave him the title of baron. The U.S. National Endowment for the Arts granted him the 2009 Jazz Master Award.
Thielemans hung up his harmonica in 2014 as health problems linked to his age made it more difficult for him to take to the stage. A jazz festival held in his name was due to take place from Sept. 9-11 in the town of La Hulpe, some 25 kilometers (16 miles) southeast of Brussels, where Thielemans lived.
