Guitarist leads eclectic trio, World on a String

by Zan Stewart/The Star-Ledger
Wednesday November 26, 2008, 10:00 PM


Paul Meyers' musical style springs from Brazil.

With his gleaming tone, assured rhythmic stance and rich sense of melody, Paul Meyers makes a very persuasive guitarist.

New York native Meyers, a Jersey City resident, grew up on rock, then discovered jazz at age 17 or so. A few years later, he heard Brazilian music, first via guitarist Baden Powell, and was enamored.

"Brazilian music is really the same as jazz: a meeting of European harmonies and African rhythms," says Meyers, 52. "It's just that those harmonies and rhythms evolved in different ways in North America and South America. Brazilian swings, is beautiful, a sensuous, fun music, with great spirit."

Meyers leads his engaging band, World on a String, Saturday at the Bar Next Door in New York. The group, with drummer and percussionist Vanderlei Pereira and electric bassist Leo Traversa, investigates a mixture of jazz, Brazilian and other sounds from around the globe.

"We play a lot of original music, under the loose umbrella term of 'world music,'" says Meyers, whose website is paulmeyers.info. "But jazz, which is at the core of the band, is already a world music." To underscore his point, Meyers cites how in New Orleans, one of the birthplaces of jazz, people were from all over and played all kinds of music.

Meyers says his band is open to anything: Brazilian, Latin, classical via Bela Bartok, folk, African, Irish. "It could all be in there," he says.

Meyers further talked about some of the pieces on tap at Bar Next Door, all of which can be found on his 2007 CD, "World on a String" (PM Music), available at his engagements or on his website.

The percolating "River" opens with the guitar recreating the sound of the kalimba, the African thumb piano. "So there's an African influence," Meyers notes. John Lennon's "Because" also boasts "a slight African vibe underneath it."

The driving "North Meets South" is different: "A samba in rhythm but structured like an extended blues," says the guitarist.

And there's his beguiling version of "I've Got the World on a String," "on which I did my own arrangement, changed it up," he says.

Meyers relishes performing with his colleagues, longtime associates both. Of Pereira, who hails from Macae, Brazil, near Rio de Janeiro, he says, "He's got that very deep understanding of Brazilian rhythms, plus he's into Afro-Cuban and loves jazz. He's a very earthy drummer."

Native New Yorker Traversa is also earthy, says the leader. "He's played a lot of different kinds of music, so he's an extremely supportive bass player with a great groove."

Teaching also figures into Meyers' productive, and rewarding, agenda. Since 1988, when he moved to Jersey City, Meyers has been an adjunct professor of music at both William Paterson University in Wayne and New Jersey City University in Jersey City. He's pleased to be at schools that attract students "who are hungry to learn."

"The students are looking for direction, so you give them stuff to focus on," he says. "I tell them, 'Don't try to work on everything, just do one thing at a time, do it well.' That will carry over into everything else."

Zan Stewart is The Star-Ledger's jazz writer. He is also a musician who occasionally performs at local clubs. He may be reached at zstewart@starledger.com or at (973) 324-9930.

Paul Meyers' World on a String. When: Saturday, 9 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Where: Bar Next Door, 129 MacDougal St., New York. How much: $10 music charge, $10 minimum. Call (212) 529-5945 or visit lalanternacaffe.com.