HENDRIK MEURKENS - Samba to Go! (2009) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Though being of Dutch-German descent, Hendrik Meurkens has become a professional Brazilian flavored music maker whose spirited sounds are channeled through his most evident influence, Toots Thielemans. On this recording, Meurkens switches up playing his familiar harmonica with the vibraphone, mixes in a few older tunes from his repertoire with fresh material, one American popular song, and a uses a complement of long-standing bandmembers alongside some newer voices. It's a reliable result, in that the steady samba rhythms never waver, keeping in check a vast amount of improvisation save solos, and gives the listener a safe haven to enjoy this generally uplifting music. St. Petersburg, Russia born keyboardist Misha Tsiganov is a real find, while saxophonist Rodrigo Ursala is as vital a component as Meurkens, especially when he employs his lithe, playful, and atmospheric flute. The leader also wrote most of this music, save for the standard, an Antonio Carlos Jobim tune, or one by pianist Luiz Simas. With Tsiganov playing the Fender Rhodes piano, there a bit of a retro fusion feel à la the original Return to Forever that featured Brazilians Airto and Flora Purim. The Jobim piece "So Tinha De Ser com Voce" has this feeling in a lighter samba flavor with Meurkens on vibes, while "Odessa in April" has a calmer, sleek and seductive tone about it as harmonica joins overdubbed sax and flute. Simas joins on piano for the outstanding "A Choro for You" as churning rhythms meet the Thielemans' style of Meurkens in staccato accents. Of the redo tunes, "Spaceburger" is a great melodic vehicle and an energetic, magnetic tune that leaps out of the speakers, "Mountain Drive" has the kind of shimmering Rhodes sound reminiscent of '70s Chick Corea with Ursala's vibrant tenor sax on the second chorus, while the N.Y.C. neo-bop based "Joe's Donut" is driven by the acoustic piano of Tsiganov and the Michael Brecker-like tenor of Ursala, similar to the band Steps/Steps Ahead, with Meurkens' vibes in the style of Steps co-leader Mike Mainieri. "Bossa Sketch" is close to an ECM-like chamber semi-ballad sound, sultry and romantic with the atmospheric soprano sax of Ursala leading the way. "My Foolish Heart" is a true ballad sans sax, moving to light samba on the bridge. Though typical of what Meurkens has been releasing, there's enough depth, substance, and diversity to set this apart from strictly confined Brazilian music projects. It is a high point for Meurkens so far, as a bandleader, a vibist (please, play more!) and especially a well-rounded and able instrumentalist. by Michael G. Nastos  
Tracklist :
1     Spaceburger 5:19
Hendrik Meurkens
2     Odessa in April 6:35
Hendrik Meurkens
3     Samba to Go! 4:30
Hendrik Meurkens
4     Só Tinha de Ser Com Você 5:45
Antônio Carlos Jobim / De Oliveira
5     Choro No. 14 2:58
Hendrik Meurkens
6     Mountain Drive 6:06
Hendrik Meurkens
7     Joe's Donut 5:28
Hendrik Meurkens
8     Bossa Sketch 5:13
Hendrik Meurkens
9     A Choro for You 4:24
Luiz Paulo Simas
10     My Foolish Heart 6:34
Ned Washington / Victor Young
Credits :
Bass – Gustavo Amarante
Congas, Percussion, Pandeiro – Zé Maurício (faixas: 3, 7, 9)
Drums, Pandeiro, Percussion – Adriano Santos (faixas: 1, 2, 4 to 6, 8)
Harmonica, Vibraphone – Hendrik Meurkens
Piano – Luiz Simas (faixas: 9)
Piano, Electric Piano – Misha Tsiganov
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Flute, Alto Flute – Rodrigo Ursala

NILSON MATTA & HENDRIK MEURKENS - Encontros (Meetings) 2000 / Mp3

This delightful CD is the long-postponed project of two popular interpreters and composers of Brazilian music: bassist Nilson Matta and Hendrick Meurkens on vibes, marimba, and chromatic harmonica, making wistful, soulful sounds that blend naturally into this harmonic landscape. The other players include the splendid Italian jazz pianist Dado Moroni on two tracks and four superb Brazilian musicians based in New York: guitarist Romero Lubambo, drummer Duduka Da Fonsesca, vocalist Maucha Adnet, and pianist Helio Alvez, known for his clean, swinging lines. Two Jobim standards are nicely done: the languid "Amor em Paz," with lovely soloing by Lubambo, and the triumphant "Chega de Saudade" (aka "No More Blues"), where the mix doesn't capture Adnet's satiny, live voice, but can't hide her impeccable time. The closer is a free-form romp on Hermeto Pascoal's "O Ovo," where Da Fonsesca finally gets to stretch out and shine. The rest are tuneful originals by the co-leaders, such as Meurken's evocative travel pieces -- "Summer in San Francisco" and "Prague in March" -- and Matta's beautiful bossa tributes to his mother, "Rosa," and wife, "This Is for Luisa." There's also Meurken's jolly, jazzy version of the traditional chorinho and Matta's churning salute to Baden Powell, which highlights his strong, warm bass work and contains a surprise: a Bach prelude that swings hard. Fine work all around and an excellent, varied sampler of Brazilian jazz. by Judith Schlesinger  

MARY STALLINGS — Manhattan Moods (1996) APE (image+.cue), lossless

A product of the San Francisco Bay Area jazz scene, Mary Stallings recorded in New York for the first time when she entered a Manhattan studio for her third Concord release, Manhattan Moods. Contrary to what some provincial, myopic jazz critics implied, Stallings didn't have to record in the Big Apple to prove her legitimacy -- she would have been a great singer even if she'd never set foot outside of northern California. But Stallings' visit to New York was a good thing, for her talented East Coast support includes pianist Monty Alexander and producer Allen Farnham (who is a fine pianist himself, though he doesn't play on this CD). Farnham was known for his work with Mel Tormé and Susannah McCorkle, and when it came to working with singers in the 1990s, you couldn't ask for a more insightful producer. Farnham's input was obviously a major asset for Stallings, who really pours her heart into such chestnuts as "You Go to My Head," "I Wish I Knew," and "Lullaby of the Leaves." Perhaps the album's most surprising track is "How High the Moon," which was done at maximum speed by countless beboppers, but becomes a haunting ballad in Stallings' hands. With Stallings having put her singing career on the back burner for so many years, it was great to see her building an impressive catalog at Concord. Alex Henderson 
Tracklist :
1     This Can't Be Love    4:16
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
2     Sweet and Lovely    5:18
Gus Arnheim / Jules LeMare (Chas. N. Daniels) / Harry Tobias
3     I Have a Feeling    6:08
Carroll Coates
4     How High the Moon    5:36
Nancy Hamilton / Morgan Lewis
5     Lullaby of the Leaves    4:38
Bernice Petkere / Joe Young
6     I Wish I Knew    5:04
Mack Gordon / Harry Warren
7     The Surrey with the Fringe on Top    4:48
Oscar Hammerstein II / Richard Rodgers
8     You Go to My Head    6:35
J. Fred Coots / Haven Gillespie
9     He Was Too Good to Me    6:03
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
10     Willow Weep for Me    5:59
Ann Ronell
11     I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You    5:18
Bing Crosby / Ned Washington / Victor Young
12     I Love You Madly    4:21
Duke Ellington
 Credits
 Bass – Ben Wolfe
 Drums – Clyde Lucas
 Flute – Dick Oatts (tracks: 4,9)
 Harmonica – Hendrik Meurkens (tracks: 6, 8)
 Piano – Monty Alexander
 Soprano Saxophone – Dick Oatts (tracks: 3)
 Vibraphone – Hendrik Meurkens (tracks: 9)
    Vocals – Mary Stallings