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.

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.

Originally Posted: December 29, 2009

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

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