The chromatic harmonica may look like a simple toy or a novelty but it is actually one of the most difficult of all instruments to play. Stating a bebop melody with the ease of a saxophonist has only been achieved by a small handful of jazz harmonica players, most notably Toots Thielemans and Hendrik Meurkens. For his new project 'The Jazz Meurkengers', Meurkens decided that a new swinging jazz album was long overdue so he contacted pianist Steve Ash, bassist Chris Berger and drummer Andy Watson to help him deliver the hard-bop groove of Winton Kelly, Jimmy Cobb and Wes Montgomery. The album features four standards, five Meurkens originals and special guests Ed Cherry and Nick Hampton.
The chromatic harmonica may look like a simple toy or a novelty but it is actually one of the most difficult of all instruments to play. Stating a bebop melody with the ease of a saxophonist has only been achieved by a small handful of jazz harmonica players, most notably Toots Thielemans and Hendrik Meurkens. For his new project 'The Jazz Meurkengers', Meurkens decided that a new swinging jazz album was long overdue so he contacted pianist Steve Ash, bassist Chris Berger and drummer Andy Watson to help him deliver the hard-bop groove of Winton Kelly, Jimmy Cobb and Wes Montgomery. The album features four standards, five Meurkens originals and special guests Ed Cherry and Nick Hampton.