Diversejazz

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.