Emily’s take on: Another look at jazz

March 10th, 2010. This is only an excerpt! To read the full article click here.

Make plans now to be at Czar Bar on March 19. Local up-and-coming jazz group Diverse is teaming up with Les Izmore of Hearts of Darkness for a tribute to Chicago rap artist Common’s breakthrough album Like Water for Chocolate — a show not to be missed.

Released in 2000, Like Water for Chocolate mixes elements of jazz, funk, hip hop and spoken word, and features guest spots by D’Angelo, Mos Def, MC Lyte and others.

Diverse’s Hermon Mehari, 22, a trumpeter in his senior year at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, took time to chat about the show, Common’s music and how Diverse is working to change our perception of jazz music.

Emily: How did you come up with the idea for the show?

Hermon: Our group members come from all different backgrounds, all different genres — gospel, jazz, hip hop — and they really complement each other. I think I met Les during a show at Record Bar. He liked our stuff and we thought, “let’s do a collaboration.”

E: What made you choose Like Water for Chocolate?

H: It’s one of my favorite hip-hop albums. I love every track. Common’s words are almost poetry. There are some really deep moments in that album, not the normal radio brand of hip hop. The musicians on the album are awesome, which helps us out.

E: Who are you trying to reach with this collaboration?

H: One of our ideas is that people who have never seen jazz will be more open to checking it out and, at the same time, people who haven’t seen hip hop can be in that scene. I think a lot of people are interested to see a real band play behind a hip hop artist. The audience can feel the difference in the energy when there’s a live band and people are feeding off each other’s talent.

E: If a person has never been to a jazz show before, why should they see Diverse?

H: After a lot of our shows people will come up and say, “I don’t really listen to jazz, but I really like you guys.” Our presentation is different than most traditional groups. We engage the audience. We’re a young group, so it’s energetic and accessible. When we played our last show at Czar Bar, people hadn’t really heard us before. At the beginning everyone was talking and doing their own thing, but by the end, their eyes were on us.

What: A tribute to Common’s Like Water for Chocolate by Les Izmore and Diverse When/where: 9 p.m. March 19 at Czar Bar, 1531 Grand Blvd. Cost: $7

Read more: http://www.inkkc.com/content/emilys-take-another-look-jazz#ixzz0htj6TpdV

Diverse is excited to announce tomorrow marks the first day of the Arts Enterprise-Sponsored University Clinic Tour.

The circuit includes clinics and concerts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and Bowling Green State University. The tour dates are March 10, 13, and 15, respectively. In addition, Diverse will perform at Nighttown, one of the most respected jazz clubs in Cleveland.

Jane Higgins, the the band’s publicist, took some time to offer comments on the tour:

“The fact that three of the members of Diverse are still undergraduate students speaks volumes to the significance of this tour.” Higgins, touted “publicist extraordinaire” by Saint Louis’River Front Times, has represented artists such as hip-hop icon Nelly and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee Johnnie Johnson.

“Undergraduate students providing educational jazz clinics and performances to arts students at other institutions is virtually unheard of”, she continues. “Diverse is truly a special group with immensely talented up-and-coming musicians.”

Arts Enterprise is a progressive association whose motto is “The Art of Business, The Business of Art.” According to its website, Arts Enterprise is “a groundbreaking, interdisciplinary club that caters to the needs of students” and seeks to link the growing and often neglected relationship between business and the arts.

Founded at the University of Michigan in 2006, Arts Enterprise is one of the most innovative whose mission includes developing entrepreneurial/business skills of students and student leadership skills through arts-based learning.

If you haven’t already, make sure to check out Diverse’s new video page. All of the videos posted on our official YouTube channel can also be found here for your convenience.

Video credits: Laura Brewer, on behalf of Origin Records.

To read the original article, click here.

Last Friday, Diverse became the first jazz act to play Czar Bar (web site here). And the club couldn’t have selected a superior inaugural group.

The night started with few there actually listening but ended with a won-over room and wild applause. John Brewer, Ben Leifer, Hermon Mehari and Ryan Lee (left to right in the top photo below) blazed through their first set. I’ve heard Ben provide solid bass to many groups in KC, but this night he owned some of the most dynamic, complex and engaging bass solos jazz fans will hear. I’m not often a fan of drum solos — just my taste — but Ryan’s drew me in with a real beginning, middle and end. The only horn on stage for the first set, Hermon’s solos exploded with an unbridled energy that I never wanted to end. Though John’s electronic vocal manipulations were not my favorite (maybe I’m just too much an old traditionalist), the crowd loved them. I, on the other hand, loved his organ sound solos. Young saxophonist Matt Chalk (he’s the new face in the second shot) joined them for the second set, and the room was theirs.

Czar Bar did the evening right, playing Charlie Parker music between sets (that’s more legit between-set jazz than I often hear at a certain downtownjazz club). If you weren’t there, just look at what you missed:

The Kansas City Star’s Music Blog, Back to Rockville, mentioned our upcoming collaboration with rapper Les Izmore. Check it out here!

-Hermon

Jazz quintet Diverse wins Gene Harris Jazz Festival, Origin Records Competition, truly delivers

By Skaught Patterson. To view the original article click here.

Diverse, the eponymous album by Kansas City Jazz group Diverse, is a true success story, the rarest kind of success story, the kind that almost never develops to such a fruitful outcome. Most of the elements of it are fairly commonplace—all of the right pieces come together, a group of talented musicians meet at college, they begin working on their own original music, they enter a contest, grand prize is a recording contract—these things happen. But what doesn’t usually happen is full delivery on the part of the band and of the contest sponsors to create a top notch album worthy of national air play. This is that one in a million story where it all came together.

The group formed in 2008, and within six months, leapt into competition in Boise, Idaho at the Gene Harris Jazz Competition, sponsored by Boise State University. First prize was a recording contract with Origin Records and, hopefully, world wide fame. The 2009 release of Diverse is the ticket to earn the quintet just that. 

Diverse features five top notch, young musicians from the UMKC Conservatory of Music. Trumpet player Hermon Mehari has laid down a recording that displays the precision of a classically trained musician, with almost none of the squawks that most trumpet players let slide, even in heavily produces recordings, as acceptable quirks of in-the-moment soloing. Mehari’s playing is precise. He is also the composer of one of the best songs on the album, “Lost in Darkness” (track eleven).

(Article Continues, click here to view the complete review)

Diverse is expertly produced and even features a track of Kansas City saxophone great Bobby Watson (track seven, “Where it Lives”), a mentor who provides insightful liner notes about the quintet’s formation and growing experience.

For those who love modern and avant-garde jazz, this album is truly a winner.

We will be performing a dinner show at the Czar Bar this Friday, which will make the first time they have had a jazz group featured there. Expect some new arrangements of the songs we’ve had, as well as new originals, some new sounds and additions, as well as a special guest. Don’t miss it!

-Hermon M

Kansas City Swings: Hermon Mehari on Diverse and music

Kansas City boasts a rich heritage in jazz. Both Charlie Parker and Count Basie have roots there, as well as countless musicians who’ve helped define the genre over the years. Diverse, a quintet formed in 2008, is making their mark on the city’s cultural scene. Co-founded by trumpeter Hermon Mehari, 22, Diverse received top honors at the Gene Harris Jazz Festival in 2008.  Their music is hip and young, cool and accessible to not only fans of jazz, but anyone who enjoys listening to a group of talented instrumentalists. Born in Dallas, Texas, Hermon grew up in Jefferson City, Missouri. He picked up trumpet while in middle school, and over the years, has gained a solid reputation for the quality of his playing as well as his dynamic, outgoing personality.  In 2008, Hermon won the National Trumpet Competition, and in 2009 was named Person of the Year by Plastic Sax, a local Kansas City blog for jazz musicians. He is currently a student at the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Jazz program.  In this interview, Hermon discusses Diverse and his music.

Who are your stylistic influences, and why?
My stylistic influences mainly come from the jazz genre, but some hip-hop and R&B as well. The artists that have had the most influence on my playing are Kenny Garrett, Logan Richardson, Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown, Ambrose Akinmusire, and John Coltrane.

Describe the music scene in Kansas City.
The music scene in Kansas City is great because it is very close and supportive. I have many friends on the scene, especially on the jazz scene. Another cool aspect is that many musicians can make a living just playing music here, because the cost of living is so low. There’s a lot of great musicians who are well established, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City is continuously bringing in a lot of young talent.

Explain Diverse. How did the band form?
The band formed as an “Independent Combo” at the University of Missouri-Kansas City as a quartet in 2008. It was William Sanders on tenor saxophone, Ben Leifer on bass, Ryan Lee on drums, and I. The director of our jazz program, Bobby Watson, trusted us and let us do our own thing. We rehearsed on our own and sought out gigs. To me, the special thing about the band is that we had a concept early on. Our mission is to play music that is accessible to a lot of people, and draw people of all demographics towards jazz music without sacrificing our musical integrity. This concept has been maintained and evolved over the past couple of years. Eventually, we got accepted to compete in the Gene Harris Jazz Festival held in Boise, Idaho, in June of 2008. After winning the competition, our great friend and pianist John Brewer joined the band. The prize of that competition was a recording project with jazz label Origin Records and the opportunity to open for legendary jazz drummer Roy Haynes.

What was the process of making your record?
The process of making the record went much smoother than we had anticipated. All the music was original music, and we had been playing most of it for a while before the actual recording session. This coupled with the fact that our mentor Bobby Watson was the producer really helped the session sail along. Everything on the record is either a first take or a second take.

How would you describe your music?
The music on the record is half “straight-ahead” swing, and half groove-oriented tunes. We try to make melodies and grooves that people can relate to and are hopefully memorable. We try to have layers of complexity and simplicity working together so that certain people can enjoy one or the other.

To read the entire interview, please follow this link.

Last night, Ryan Lee and Ben Leifer performed with the great trumpet player Sean Jones and Bobby Watson at the Blue Room in Kansas City. If you didn’t know, Sean is one of the most incredible trumpet players out there today, and is  a big influence on my playing. He has 5 great albums on the Mack Avenue label and has been in the prestigious Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra for 5 years. Below are a couple of videos featuring Sean.

- Hermon

We are excited to share the 2 following clips, showcasing Diverse’s newest grooves. Both song’s debut performance was at the 2009 Anthem International Music Festival at Coda in Kansas City, MO.  The first song, “Make It Shine” was written by pianist John Brewer. The second song, “Forever”, was written by drummer Ryan Lee.  Both clips were submitted by one of the many dedicated Diverse fans who attended the performance. The following videos can also be found at the group’s Official YouTube channel.

Make It Shine

Forever