Liner Notes for Amazon River


Amazon River is the culmination of an enduring love affair. Although he has recorded Brazilian music many times in his distinguished career, this is his first true concept recording, wherein Hendrik Meurkens focuses on all aspects of the Brazilian sound, from samba to chorinho, supported by both a small group and strings.

For Meurkens, a Jazz musician best known for his mastery of the chromatic harmonica, Brazilian music embodies a depth of beauty and simplicity that touches his very soul. “I’ve always been attracted to music that focuses on melody and harmonic beauty,” he explains. “That could be Bach or Bird, but for me, the perfect music is Brazilian because of its sympathetic emotional context.”

A virtuoso who also plays vibes and composes, Meurkens’ Brazilian connection is so strong that producer Oscar Castro-Neves, the amazingly talented Rio native, believes that “his soul was born somewhere among the trees and the rivers of Brazil, so native are his performances.”

First moved by Brazilian music while growing up in Germany, after relocating to the US and perfecting his unique musical voice at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, he spent time in Rio, in the early 80s, to totally immerse himself in the music and culture of Brazil.

Meurkens’ poignant, emotionally affecting harmonica proved to be a sound that is strongly embraced by Brazilian musicians and listeners.

Bassist Nilson Matta was one among Meurkens’ early collaborators in his Rio days. “Back in Brazil,” Nilson remembers, “I had the chance to work with Mauricio Einhorn and Rildo Hora (two top Brazilian harmonica players) and Toots Thielemans, and all I can say is Hendrik combines that Brazilian samba swing with Toots’ virtuosity. He’s an amazing musician.”

Another close friend, Brazilian trumpeter Claudio Roditi, who has played on many Meurkens’ recordings, feels that "Hendrik's understanding of the Brazilian music vocabulary is absolute...His music feels like the work of a native Brazilian composer. Hendrik Meurkens is one of those rare musicians who makes you listen to his instrument - the harmonica - as a virtuoso instrument."

During a 2004 tour of Germany and Finland with three extraordinary Brazilian players, bassist Matta, pianist Helio Alves, and master percussionist Duduka Da Fonseca, along with special guest Oscar Castro-Neves on guitar and vocals, Meurkens began putting the pieces together for Amazon River. It started as a Brazilian Quartet project, but with Oscar on board as co-producer, they began recording tracks with additional musicians as well, including Dori Caymmi and Paquito D’Rivera, and adding strings, where appropriate.

It was Castro-Neves who served as the catalyst for making this more than a Quartet recording: “Oscar is more than just a guitarist and singer. He’s a producer and arranger, as well, so it was a wonderful collaboration. Oscar molded and developed my ideas into what became Amazon River. We recorded the band tracks in Germany during our tour, and the rest in New York and Los Angeles.” As for the diversity of music on the CD, Meurkens’ observes that “one of the reasons I was able to record different aspects of the Brazilian sound was because of the musicians, each of whom is a master on his craft”

Not surprisingly, Castro-Neves is enthusiastic about his collaborator. “Working on Amazon River let me even closer to Hendrik’s talents,” he reports. “To be proficient on the harmonica is a milestone in itself. Blowing out produces one note, breathing in produces another. To play legato, to have fluidity and the proper dynamics in this difficult instrument means endless hours of dedication. Hendrik has an awesome technique, a great sense of improvisation and a very personal way of navigating complex harmonies. Adding to that is his wonderful artistry on the vibraphone, another instrument that Hendrik commands with great grace and expression.”

It was a special honor for Hendrik to have Dori Caymmi as a guest. “Dori’s songs and his voice have a magic that has no equal. His two songs here on the album are so beautiful, with Dori singing and Oscar’s string arrangements. If there is a perfect setting for my harmonica this would be it! Dori’s song ‘Amazon River’, which became the albums title track, is one of the all time great compositions of Brazilian music”.

One of Meurkens’ favorite Brazilian music forms is the Choro, and three of his own Chorinhos (as Choros as also called) are included, “Menina na Janela,” “Lingua de Mosquito,” and “The Peach.” “Paquito plays on two of them, most notably ‘The Peach,’ which is very demanding technically. Helio loves to call it his ‘tendonitis’ tune and after we played the tune on the road I was thinking of who could join us for the recording. And of course I thought of Paquito. Very few musicians have the necessary understanding of the music, or the chops to do this. And Paquito and myself share a great love for Brazilian music and especially for the Chorinho so he was the perfect choice.”

Not yet as well known as other Brazilian forms, Choro, or Chorinho, is a Brazilian music style that originated in Rio de Janeiro in the 19th century. It evolved from a blend of such European styles as Polka, Waltz and Mazurka and, the emerging Samba. The result was a sophisticated, polyrhythmic, lively musical form with highest demands to the performing musicians.

“Besides Paquito,” Meurkens continues, “we are joined by two choro masters whose presence was essential to the success of this recording, Pedro Ramos on cavaquinho and Zé Mauricio on pandeiro. On ‘Menina na Janela’ Hendrik shares the melody with Robson Cerqueira on bandolim, the Brazilian mandolin. “I just love the sound of harmonica and bandolim in Chorinho. Both instruments have that longing melancholic quality and the word ‘Choro’ actually comes from ‘chorar’, which means crying or weeping, so here we go!”

“As always, it’s about the right musicians along with the right music and these guys were perfect. Just like the way Oscar was perfect to be featured on the bossa nova tracks, the songs by Jobim, ‘Ela é Carioca’ and ‘Sem Você.’ I love classic, pure bossa nova and Oscar is a master of it.”

“And for the samba, ‘Piano na Mangueira,’ we again have Pedro Ramos on cavaquinho, which is so essential to capturing the feel of this essential Brazilian form, and a great ‘batucada’ courtesy of Zé Mauricio, Jorge Amorim and Duduka. Mangueira is a part of Rio and also the name of one of Rios grand Escolas de Samba. Jobim wrote this song for Mangueira, the Escola de Samba, and we start out the tune as a samba, then in the middle we go to a Sambajazz trio of piano, bass and drums (plus other Brazilian spices) and we take it out with everybody joining in, symbolizing just that: Piano na Mangueira!

Hendrik Meurkens believes that “Amazon River is the ultimate statement about me and my music. It presents the whole picture, from Brazilian influenced Jazz to more traditional music. I feel it’s my best work, with so much variation included within it. My goal was to make the most beautiful album possible and I know that we did.”

“Music is not always meant to make a political statement. Music is just music. When a bird sings, he doesn’t want to change the world. I feel my obligation is to create something of real beauty. There’s no greater declaration than that.”

Bret Primack