being the title of a cd by hendrik meurkens
he being a harmonica and vibraphone player from germany
though besotted by brazilian samba music and resident in new york
after a number of years in rio absorbing all things musically brazilian
never heard of him myself so a listen to this album seems in order
sambatropolis
first impression - well - very light, non-offensive background jazz
this one reminding me of intermissions at picture theatres in my youth
reading more into mr meurkens reveals his band are all south americans
so that would explain the not-overwhelming latino feel to the tune
kind of bops along for 5-6 minutes with lots of different lead breaks
nem la nem ca
and picking up where the opening track left off in pace and feel
mr meurkens now at work on the vibraphone and also a flute in there
piano grooving away and some brass coming in and out
still sounding like intermission music though - no need to offend
though there is some nice vibraphone playing featuring here
ocean lights
getting a bit more moody now with a gentle, slow flute-led number
then the man picks up the harmonica and takes over lead duties
it's just so - nice - lower the lights, light the candles, romance is on
i'm trying really hard to like this but, but, but it just doesn't grab
did i mention the electric bass is so bland it sounds like the player is asleep
the bee
the drummer is allowed to show off here with a few opening flourishes
harmonica is then out front and harmonising with the higher keys of the piano
both moving very skillfully and quickly over a range of notes
is it that the sound is supposed to remind us of some kind of insect?
a quite up-tempo number remaining quite close in sound to previous tracks
fotographia
the first cover on the album of a tune by bossa nova king antonio carlos jobim
quite a nice feel with harmonica, sax and piano working together
though still so light it almost floats away - no grounding here from the rhythm section
the electric bass is very average and the drummer likewise seems um, gutless
i'm thinking now that there's probably a huge fan base for this schmaltzy schmicko schit
hot and stuffy
ok - up the tempo to full-pace, wake up the bass-player, let the sax player rip
then answer the call with some admittedly very classy and stylish harmonica work
i can see (hear) why he is rated up there for his harmonica playing
you can imagine this tune being a throwaway on some other jazz album
but here it is rooted well inside the boundaries of the rest of this album
voce vai vere
another tune by antonio carlos jobim and not at all dissimilar to fotographia
the piano naturally is the main instrument used throughout this tune
vibraphone and harmonica playing from the main man also featured
and that cursed electric bass that monotonously just keeps going
if nothing else this tune begs the question - i wonder how the original sounds?
you don't know what love is
thanks - but you don't know what gutsy jazz is - another bland-out
though the sax is quite slow and seductive sounding for a while
before the vibraphone takes over proceedings and kind of annoys
it's one of those instruments that you can only do so much with i think
which may be why mr meurkens has mastered another instrument also
choro da neve
the title alone promising something - brazilian choro music is alright, alright?
apparantly hendrik meurkens main vision is to fuse choro with jazz
fusion being the word that probably most unfortunately defines his style
i do actually quite like this up-tempo tune with it's very distinctive latino feel
there's a cavaquinho (stringed instrument) featured which adds to it's appeal
a summer in san francisco
and appropriately adopting a west coast kind of sound for this one
whatever that may be but it feels like something some smooth dudes would play
the yellowjackets spring to mind (for some reason) - this is definitely - jazz - nice
and again conjuring up images of the band in the corner playing the tune
while the diners enjoy their meal and talk and drink to their success
bernie's tune
a jazz standard apparantly - originally performed by gerry mulligan in the 50's
again a promise of something of substance with a history to match up to
well? - more of the same really - same bass, same drums, same vibraphone
gets along at quite a fast pace and encourages the sax player to have a go
but in the end (phew) this tune sounds like all the others on this album
summary
internationally acclaimed harmonica and vibraphone player performs with a south american based band to deliver an album of mostly originals showcasing very safely a hybrid of jazz, samba and choro music that is very easy to listen to
