Hendrik Meurkens (born 1957) is a Dutch harmonica and vibraphone player of the modern jazz.
He has been described as "the obvious leading player" in harmonica and has been compared to Toots Thielemans.
Thomas Meurkens was born on August 15, 1957 to Dutch parents and spent his early life in Hamburg. He began playing the vibraphone when he was sixteen and started playing the harmonica three years later after listening to a Toots Thielemans recording. He studied with Wolfgang Schlüter from 1976 to 1977.
Meurkens moved to the United States the same year and attended the Berklee College of Music for three years. He lived in Brazil during the early 1980s, moving back to his hometown of Hamburg after a few years. During his time there, Meurkens met Brazilian musician , who gave him a place to sleep during his first few days in the nation. Back in Hamburg, Meurkens toured throughout Europe with a jazz group and was composing for German television.
In 1989, Meurkend released his debut album, Samba Importado, via Bellaphon Records. He was signed onto Concord Records the next year, releasing six albums for the label before exiting during the late 1990s.
As of 2021, he lives in New York City.