Diversejazz

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

We are excited to announce that we will be collaborating with Les Izmore to do a tribute to Common’s great album “Like Water For Chocolate.” The show will be at 10 PM on Friday, March 19th at the Czar Bar and will feature most of the songs from the album. With this performance, Diverse is starting to connect with the hip hop scene in Kansas City. Spread the word!

-Hermon

This year’s International Music Festival, or IMF, is set to offer a highly competitive, high quality series of performances.

Diverse will be competing in Kansas City’s market, one of the 70 markets apart of the competition. If crowned champ, Diverse, along with five other regional winners, will be subjected to online voting to determine the ultimate festival winner.

The prize? An all expenses paid mini-tour in South Africa.

Crowd voting and official IMF judges will determine the winner of Kansas City’s prestigious event; the more fans, the better. If you would like to show your support, please email hermontrumpet@gmail.com or purchase tickets the night of the event, held at Coda, the restaurant.

The event begins at 8 pm on Friday, January 29 and tickets cost $10. Proceeds go to the charity CHOSA, Children of South Africa.

Diverse is scheduled to perform first, promptly at 8pm and will be offering a 30 minute set.

We’d love to see you there!

When? Friday, January 29 at 8:00 pm.
Where? Coda, the restaurant, at 1744 Broadway Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64108
Who? Anybody that has a passion for live music and would like to show their support. The event is open to all ages.
How much? $10 per ticket. Proceeds will go to CHOSA, Children of South Africa. www.chosa.org

Official website: http://www.anthemimf.com

Happy New Year!!!

We’ve had some great responses to the show we did in December with Logan Richardson. Here are a couple of blog posts about it:

http://plasticsax.blogspot.com/2009/12/man-bites-dog-jazz-trounces-hip-hop.html

http://kcjazzlark.blogspot.com/2010/01/in-lieu-of-1000-words-diverse-at-record.html

Thanks to Plastic Sax and KCJazzLark!

Also, our pianist John Brewer just recently got married!!! Pictures coming soon!!!

Diverse is currently working on putting together a cross-genre show in KC, more details to come…

-Hermon

Click here for the original article.

The Young Jazzers: Diverse

Diverse is a band with winning ways. In 2008, this five-piece jazz band of young musicians won the Gene Harris Jazz Competition. In doing so, trumpeter Hermon Mehari, tenor saxophonist William Sanders, keyboardist John Brewer, bassist Ben Leifer and drummer Ryan Lee not only got to open for the festival’s headliner, DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame drummer Roy Haynes, but also won a deal to record an album of original music on the Origin label. The CD is called Diverse and was produced by Bobby Watson, who plays sax on a track.

Mehari, 22, says Diverse, whose sound blends modern-day influences with deeply rooted traditional jazz, did not expect the 2009 it has had: “At our CD-release party at the Blue Room in August, people had to wait an hour to get in. Our CD hit 49th on the JazzWeekchart, and it’s gotten international airplay in France, Australia, New Zealand,” he says.

One reason for the group’s success: “We like to provide a gateway to jazz,” Mehari says. “One of our goals is to bring in young people and expand our demographic by making the audience happy and feel good.”

Proof of that good feeling came in November when Diverse played the “We Always Swing” Jazz Series at Murry’s in Columbia. “That was our best gig of the year,” Mehari says. “We sold a lot of CDs, and a lot of people came up to us and said, ‘I don’t listen to jazz but I really like what you guys are doing.’”

As for 2010, the band will continue its Diverse Features Series, such as its recent RecordBar gig with guest Logan Richardson on alto sax, plus touring. “It’s good to have Kansas City as a base,” Mehari says. “There’s a lot of support here with other musicians and fans. And the city has a small-town feeling, so it’s easy to get the word out.”

- By Robert Folsom

Plastic Sax, a respected Kansas City-based jazz blog, named Hermon Mehari the “Plastic Sax Person of the Year” award. The article, posted on December 27, stated “Hermon Mehari is far more than the trumpet player in Diverse. The energy and exuberance he contributed to Kansas City’s jazz scene in 2009 make him the obvious choice for Plastic Sax’s Person of the Year.”

The article cites many respected traits Mehari is known by his fans for, including his “upbeat and optimistic demeanor”, his never-ending positive comments on UMKC’s jazz program and of Kansas City, and for his embrace of “new technology…(which) allows him to share his passion for jazz with others.”

Mehari, “one of Kansas City’s most visible jazz fans”, is truly deserving of this respected award.

Plastic Sax is a well-read jazz blog that has been in operation since 2005. It is one of the most respected independent jazz review blogs in Kansas City.

Follow Hermon @kctrumpeter

Diverse would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! We truly hope your travels will keep you safe in the upcoming weeks.

On the coattails of recently completing a packed show at the Record Bar with Logan Richardson, we are very excited for what 2010 will bring. This year has been extremely busy for us. In 2009 we released our first album, (which placed in the top 50 in the Jazz Week charts), conducted several tours and performed multiple shows with respected artists such as Bobby Watson, Jaleel Shaw and Logan Richardson.

We sincerely wish the best for you, your families and friends.

Sincerely,

Hermon

DIVERSE FEATURING LOGAN RICHARDSON

This is just a reminder to everyone that Diverse will be having a show featuring the great Logan Richardson on Monday, December 14th at the Record Bar. Go to www.showigniter.com for a special $6 pledge price now!!! Otherwise, it’s $10 at the door and $6 for students at the door.