- “Although Hermine Deurloo made her recording debut as a leader in 2005 and has appeared on soundtracks, I was not familiar with her at all until hearing her on Glass Fish. It is obvious throughout this disc that she ranks among the top jazz harmonica players of the past decade. While she is not a bop-oriented player like Toots Thielemans, she has her own gentle and lyrical voice on the harmonica along with impressive fluency. She also knows how to let a melody speak for itself.

On Glass Fish, she is joined by Jesse Van Ruller (heard on electric and acoustic guitars, resonator slide guitar and ukulele), bassist Tony Overwater and percussionist Joshua Samson. Several of the performances are very pretty with Deurloo’s caressing of the melodies of “Benny’s Dream” and Duke Ellington’s “Fleurette Africaine” (the closest number to a standard on the set) being haunting and memorable. On other selections, such as “Ode For Tomlem”, “Almost Always Never,” and “Glass Fish” (which has close interplay with guitarist Van Ruller), Deurloo stretches out more and comes up with inventive ideas.

The sparse accompaniment, which often has Samson creating unusual sounds, serves the harmonica player very well. The music is light, subtle and an excellent showcase not only for Hermine Deurloo (who deserves to be much better known outside her native Netherlands) but also for her quartet.”

Scott Yanow

Here it is; O Barquinho – CD; Sozinhos – Insunza & Deurloo

Ask 100 people on a Saturday afternoon in central Amsterdam to name a harmonica player, and the responses will vary from “go away” and “I don’t have time for this” to “no idea” and “Toots, of course”. Ask the same question on a random evening to people waiting in line to get into the Amsterdam Bimhuis, and you will undoubtedly hear the name “Hermine Deurloo”. That’s because music fans have recognized, for quite some time already, Deurloo’s talent and quality on the chromatic harmonica. On 20 October 2012, she blew the roof off at the Bimhuis and the VPRO was there to record it!