Diversejazz

Ben, Will and I  got haircuts at the Straight Line Barber Shop from Jermaine Simmons today:

Diverse played a gig this morning at the Marriott in downtown Kansas City for a private function. We used this performance as a way to get ready for the show at Catalina. Here is a clip:

Diverse will be going to LA in two days!  We get in this Wednesday and our tentative plan the first night is to check out a jam session. We will document some of our time there with videos and pictures and try to be prompt about putting them up here on the website, so be sure to stay tuned!

We will be performing at Catalina Bar and Grill THIS Thursday, October 22nd at 8 PM. We are very excited about this opportunity and hope that a lot of people come out and here us!

Diverse will be performing two tunes tonight at the Annual Jazz and BBQ Fundraiser for the UMKC Jazz Studies Program. The event takes place in Pierson Auditorium in the University Center, and begins at 6 PM with dinner. Music during the dinner portion will be provided by Michael Shults (alto sax) and Andrew Ouellette (piano). Diverse will perform at 7:30, and will be followed by the UMKC Concert Jazz Band (of which Ryan Lee and I are members of as well) under the direction of Bobby Watson. The program will feature adjunct faculty members such as Stan Kessler (trumpet), Doug Auwarter (drums), Michael Pagan (piano), and Steve Dekker (trombone). Tickets for the concert are $25, and tickets for both BBQ (Oklahoma Joe’s) and the concert are $55.

-Hermon

Hey everyone!  Ben Leifer here.  This is my first post on the website, so bear with me if there are some formatting errors.  Anyways, I am very fortunate to be playing this Friday night at the Blue Room on the corner of Kansas City’s legendary 18th and Vine with master drummer Michael Carvin.  He only plays in Kansas City once a year and this will be my second time performing with him.  He is a true force.  Mr. Carvin is a musical inspiration to myself and countless others in the jazz world.  With him on this gig is his piano player from NYC, also a brilliant musician Carlton Holmes, and no introduction needed for the horn player Bobby Watson, and myself.  One thing I can tell you about Michael Carvin’s music is that every performance has the power to change your life as it has mine so many times that I have been lucky to see him and work with him.  I highly encourage you to come see this performance if you are in the area.  We start at 8:30 pm and play till 12:30am.  Here is a link to Michael Carvin’s website so you can learn more about him!  http://www.michaelcarvin.com/ Thanks guys and I hope to see some of you out there on Friday!

-Ben

This is from our show with Jaleel Shaw back in February, although Jaleel did not play on this tune. This is a Kenny Garrett composition.  We posted part of this first half earlier. Enjoy!

Diverse had a great time in Jefferson City! Thanks to everyone who showed up!

I did an interview with David Basse on Kansas Public Radio a couple of weeks ago. You can listen to it on the KPR website here: http://www.kansaspublicradio.org/jazz.php?action=listen

I also did an interview with Jason Miller on KVLU from Beaumont, Texas which can be heard by clicking here.

-Hermon

This is Ryan Lee’s solo on Jaleel’s “Optimism” from our show at the Blue Room in February.

Diverse will be going to Jefferson City to play the Capitol Jazz Fest today and tommorrow. Come on out to the Memorial Park Pavilion and check us out! We hit at around 5:45 today and 6 tomorrow.

-Hermon

Enjoy Jaleel’s AMAZING  solo on Ben’s tune!

Enjoy! The second half will be up in a couple of days…

*The previous video featuring Bobby Watson on the tune “Diverse” should now work if it wasn’t working for you before.*