Liner Notes for Amazon River
Amazon River is the culmination of an enduring love affair between Hendrik Meurkens and Brazilian music.
The affair began while Hendrik was growing up in Germany. Brazilian music embodied a depth of beauty and simplicity that touched 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."
After graduating from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Hendrik moved to Brazil in the early 80's where he immersed himself in its music and culture. It was during these days in Rio that the soul of Amazon River was born. But it wasn't until a 2004 tour of Germany and Finland that he conceived this recording, which focuses on all aspects of the Brazilian sound.
On the tour, Hendrik was joined by of some of the most talented Brazilian musicians: pianist Helio Alves, drummer Duduka Da Fonseca and bassist Nilson Matta, who was an early collaborator from Hendrik's Rio days. But it was special guest and co-producer Oscar Castro-Neves who was the catalyst for making this more than a quartet recording. Hendrik explains that "Oscar is more than a guitarist and singer. He's a producer and arranger as well. He molded and developed my ideas and created such beautiful string arrangements as well."
Not surprisingly, Castro-Neves is as enthusiastic about his collaborator. "He 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. His soul was born somewhere among the trees and the rivers of Brazil so native are his performances."
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. If there is a perfect setting for my harmonica this would be it. Dori's song 'Amazon River', which became the 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." He reports that "Paquito plays on two of them, most notably 'The Peach,' which is very demanding technically."
On these tracks, besides Paquito, Hendrik is 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 also 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 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!"
"Amazon River is the ultimate statement about me and my music. It presents the whole picture, from Brazilian influenced Jazz to more traditional music."
"Music is not always meant to make a political statement. When a bird sings, he doesn't want to change the world. I feel my obligation is to try to create something of real beauty. There's no greater declaration than that."
Bret Primack
Check out the artist's website:
http://www.bluetoucanmusic.comTrack List:
1. Mountain Drive
2. Amazon River
3. Menina na Janela
4. Passarim
5. Ela e Carioca
6. Lingua de Mosquito
7. O Cantador
8. Meu Canario Vizinho Azul
9. The Peach
10. Sem Voce
11. Piano na Mangueira
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