Hendrik Meurkens | en

Daan loves his own music. His inspirations would be ... afrobeat, amon tobin, remus, leisure-b, modern electronics, 60's jazz. But nevertheless, his own music is preferred. For further listening, see http://www.daanhendriks.co.uk, or search for 'BASIC (Human Workshop)' on Last.fm .

Ever since he started taking harmonica solos in the mid-'50s, Toots Thielemans has been without any close competition on his instrument, at least until Hendrik Meurkens arrived on the scene. Born in Germany to Dutch parents, Meurkens began as a vibraphonist, not playing harmonica until he heard Thielemans when he was 19. He traveled to the U.S. to study at Berklee and spent time in Brazil in the early '80s, during which he immersed himself in Brazilian jazz. Back in Berlin, Meurkens worked in the studios, but also recorded with the Danish Radio Orchestra and had his own jazz group....

Hendrik Meurkens, a virtuoso on both the chromatic harmonica and vibraphone, is the most important jazz harmonica player since Toots Thielemans. German-born but now based in New York, Meurkens' recordings and performances garner worldwide acclaim because the transcendent beauty of his music has universal appeal. A two-mallet player in the tradition of Milt Jackson and Bobby Hutcherson, Hendrik Meurkens was en-route to being an instantly recognizable vibraphonist when he heard Toots Thielemans. Inspired by the sound of Thielemans' harmonica, he taught himself the difficult-to-master instrument. Hendrik Meurkens' other life-changing musical experience was his introduction to samba and bossa nova. He...

Michelle Hendriks released her debut solo single "(Even the smart ones are)Dumb" in December 2006, taken from her forthcoming album, provisionally entitled "Dumb" and scheduled for release in Summer 2007. Michelle featured as a backing vocalist on the 2006 album "At The Candy Shop" by former Arrows frontman and ex Meatloaf guitarist, Alan Merrill and also appeared with Phil Hendriks & Overend Watts on the track "Momma`s Little Jewel", featured on "Mott The Hoople - Family Anthology" released in 2005. .